


Fighting Instinct

by marshmallowphd91



Series: The Untamed Universe [1]
Category: EXO, EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Wolf AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26410915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marshmallowphd91/pseuds/marshmallowphd91
Summary: Part One of The Untamed Universe.He went out of his way to ignore you. You saw his kindness towards everyone else, but he showed you only irritation. And you couldn’t blame him, considering your first meeting. However, little do you know that he’s hiding a dark world, one that you’re pulled into against your will….
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Original Female Character(s), Kim Jongdae | Chen/Reader, Kim Jongdae | Chen/You, Kim Jongin | Kai/Original Female Character(s), Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Original Character(s), Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Original Female Character(s), Zhang Yixing I Lay/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Untamed Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919662
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. An Offer - And a Warning

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story about two years ago on Tumblr. I received lots of love and feedback for this entire universe and was encouraged to post is here as well! I hope you enjoy it!

“From the Navajo to the Ancient Greeks, shapeshifters have been a staple in folklore from all over the world for several thousand years.”

Professor Kim pressed a button on his handy little stick, switching the picture shining out of the projector onto the whiteboard behind him from a regular wolf in high definition to a strange hybrid drawing on animal skin. The man in the drawing was hunched over, his back covered in fur and his fingers coming to sharp, clawed points. A few seats down from you, a girl sighed, leaning in deeper with her chin in her palm, as the teacher pushed up on his rolled up sleeve for the millionth time this period. You could have sworn you even saw her eyelashes flutter.

Professor Kim was not bad on the eyes. He had a pointed chin coupled with a strong jawline, deep brown eyes, and was in very good shape that was shown off by the tight-fitting button down he was wearing tucked into tailored slacks. But it was also hard for you to call him “professor” as he was only a few years older than you. Considering his credentials were over-the-top impressive, you still respected him. The word “professor” to you was just ingrained with middle-aged guys with thick glasses and receding hairlines in tweed jackets. However, you weren’t sure if the female-majority classmates around you felt the same way.

The World Folklore class wasn’t actually considered a credit-worthy elective for most of the majors at the college, but the class was always full anyway. Girls (and boys who swung that way) clamored to get a spot in the hundred-seat lecture hall to be able to stare at Professor Kim for an uninterrupted hour and a half. You were lucky that, as a world history student who needed this class to get full credit, you were able to get priority over someone else who was just going to throw away the money. You couldn’t entirely blame the student population for being enthusiastic for the class. The subject matter was fascinating. Starting off with mermaids and sirens, the lessons only grew in excitement, especially the three weeks spent on dragons.

Legends like that always fascinated you; the things frightened minds can come up with to explain the random bump in the night. But what captivated you more was how universal the legends could be. Different cultures that never met or crossed paths could have similar stories about creatures that could shift into humans or vise versa.

“The one thing that the legends can never agree on however,” Professor Kim rounded his desk so he was now standing in front of it, leaning back on the edge, “is if these types of creatures are just a strange natural occurrence or if there’s magic involved.”

A few students snickered at the mention of magic, the current generation used to Harry Potter and flying brooms.

“(y/n).”

Your pencil froze in the middle of your notes. Without even looking up, you could already feel all heads turning to stare at you, wondering what you did to gain the professor’s attention all of a sudden.

“Yes, sir?” you asked, clearing your throat and sitting up straighter.

Professor Kim gave you a kind smile. “Your papers are always fascinating. Please, tell us what your take is on why so many cultures have made up stories about people turning into animals.”

Great. You were not the kind of person who participated in class discussions. The fear and anxiety of being completely wrong or made fun of for your opinion was overwhelming and it kept you quiet. That’s why you sat in the middle level, just off to the right side. It was an inconspicuous spot; not too far up front where eye contact could be made, but not in the back either, where avoidance was obvious. You liked writing papers, however. It gave you time to think, to go over your words carefully as you constructed your argument. In that medium, you could be intelligent and fearless. This was horrifying.

“Um, well–” you cringed internally. Way to be articulate. You took a moment to collect your thoughts, stealing from the research paper you had already started that wasn’t due until the end of the semester. “Most people would argue that something man is most afraid of is the monster within themselves. Something that is uncontrollable. And these legends are a manifestation of that fear. That while there are scary things out in the world, the most frightening is the one hidden inside.

“However, another argument could be made if you focus on the animal itself. While humans consider ourselves the top of the food chain, that’s based mostly on our level of intelligence rather than our physical traits. How we hold ourselves doesn't stop a starved tiger from mauling you. So, you could say that the fear that created these stories might have actually come from a worry that maybe someday our only true weapon we have against the animals – our brains – could be lurking within them. So, instead of it being about the beast inside the man, it could be about the man inside the beast.”

During your little speech, Professor Kim had crossed his arms, still leaning against his desk, and stared at you with furrowed eyebrows.

“That,” he smiled, “is the kind of thinking I’ve been waiting for in this classroom.” He pushed off the wooden edge, walking around the open area near the front row. “The thing about worldwide folklore is you have to think outside the box. You can’t just create one argument for all these different civilizations who have their own stories to tell.”

To your relief, all the attention was back to the front. Sinking down in your seat, you tried to focus on your breathing, getting your system back down to calm mode. As you did that, your eyes wandered around, perhaps searching for anyone who might still be staring at you. And there was one.

A student several rows down and to your right was staring at you openly, his face blank of any emotion. When your eyes met, he slowly turned back to the front, not ashamed that he was caught, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

You shook off the strange encounter, trying to not dwell on it.

Professor Kim dismissed the class ten minutes later, ending it early. Some girls pouted while others shrugged it off. Ending class early was nothing new. Slowly and neatly, you placed your notebook and other papers into your messenger bag, careful to not jam them into your laptop.

“(y/n)! Can I talk to you for a second?”

You groaned quietly enough so no one could hear you. You’d had side conversations with the professor before. Outside of the classroom, occasionally bumping into him on your way to another class or just roaming around, killing time. He was always nice to you, interested in whatever conversation he decided to start up with you. This, however, was different.

Instead of up the steps and out the doors to the nice cool autumn day with the rest of the students, you fought the tide to get to the bottom where Professor Kim was waiting for you. He’d put on a pair of round, wire-rimmed glasses, adding to his charm.

“Yes, Professor?”

He looked down at you sympathetically. “I know I put you on the spot today, but I wanted to let you know that it’s because I know how smart you are and you need to not be afraid to contribute to the discussion.”

Pulling on your bag strap, you shifted uncomfortably. “I appreciate that, Professor, but I live my life in the shadows. It’s where I prefer to be.”

That made him frown. It was almost angry. “The shadows is not a wonderful place to preside.” He turned off the projector, sighing. “(y/n), what exactly is it you plan on doing with your degree once you graduate?”

Chewing on the inside of your cheek, you hesitated, looking away. You hated that question. You hated it because you didn’t really know. You didn’t want to be a teacher like everyone assumed. Too much attention. A thought that had been brewing in your mind since you started taking this class was researching different legends around the world and compiling them into an academic book. It was a bit of a fantasy you played in your head, locked away in a cabin far from the city, in the middle of the woods near the mountains, where you could breathe fresh air and feel the open space. But that wasn’t exactly a career that could pay the bills.

In the end, you simply shrugged, keeping that information to yourself. “I don’t really know, to be honest. History was just the only thing I was really interested in during high school so it seemed logical to further my studies there.”

Great. You sounded like a cover page for a resume.

“Well, why don’t I recommend you for a teaching assistant that’ll be open with me next semester?” Professor Kim suggested. Your jaw nearly dropped. “It’ll be a paid position – minimum wage, of course – you’ll earn credit towards your degree, and you might even gain some insight to what it is you want to do.”

“Oh, um, well….” It wasn’t exactly an offer you could say no to. Teaching assistant positions were rare and fought over like the Hunger Games. You scratched behind your ear near your hairline, a nervous tick of yours.

“You won’t be teaching any classes,” he promised. “Research assistant might be a more appropriate title for the position. And the occasional test grading.”

Now that sounded much more intriguing. But you still needed to mull it over. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course. Just let me know of your decision when you turn in your term paper.”

You nodded, nearly incoherent now. He was giving you nearly two months to make a decision. What the heck?

“Have a good day, (y/n).” He dismissed you and you took the opportunity to get out, perplexed about what just happened.

Eun Na was waiting for you in the student center at your usual table. She already had her laptop out and was bobbing her head along to whatever weird psychedelic music was pouring out from her headphones.

While you had a few other friends at the university, Eun Na was stuck to you like glue. Your freshman year had been a total nightmare. Evenings and weekends were spent alone as your dorm mates were never in and you couldn’t bring yourself to ask if you could tag along. Making friends was hard to do with mild social anxiety and your friends from high school had gone off to different colleges leaving you on your own.

It was harder to make friends here. In high school, you saw the same people day in and day out so you naturally gravitated towards certain people. But in college, you had to put more effort into it. You had to actually approach people and start conversations. Group projects were your worst nightmares.

But the first semester of your sophomore year was considerably brighter. In your European History 201 class, Eun Na had sat down next to you and introduced herself. And it didn’t stop there. She constantly asked you questions about the homework and the material. Soon, the questions turned personal and you didn’t even realize you were giving her answers that you’d normally withhold. Before you knew it, the two of you were hanging out outside of class and have since became inseparable. She helped introduce you to other people who made college life seem not so lonely anymore.

When you sat down across from her, sliding into the booth while trying to not let your exposed skin from your shorts stick to the vinyl, she pulled out her earbuds and frowned.

“About time you showed up,” she pouted.

You just chuckled. “Sorry. Professor Kim held me back to offer me a teaching assistant position for next semester.”

Eun Na pursed her lips, obviously bothered by your news. “Well, that’s…. random.”

You shrugged. “Not entirely. I mean, sure I don’t really talk during class, but he likes my papers.”

Professor Kim really liked your papers.

You nearly had a panic attack when you got the first one back. There were red marks and little notes all over every single page. You were to the point of tears until you actually read what they said. There was nothing but praise in them. And it happened with each of your papers. With today’s events, you began to suspect that you were possibly his favorite.

“I’m not sure if you should do it,” Eun Na said suddenly.

You knit your eyebrows together, confused. “Really? Teaching Assistant positions aren’t exactly just handed out like that.”

“Exactly,” she countered. “You don’t think it’s a little odd that he just randomly offered it to you? No strings attached?”

You nearly gagged at her implication. “Seriously, Eun Na? He’s not a perve. Besides, if he really wanted to, there’s plenty of female students who would gladly be in that position.”

Eun Na rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She closed her laptop with an ear-stinging slam and threw it in her bag, making you flinch. “I’m just looking out for you.”

“He’s giving me plenty of time to think about it.”

She gave you one more pointed look. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll see you in psych.”

You shook your head, unable to believe what had just transpired. Eun Na was usually the most supportive person you knew. She’d never shut you down like this before.

Tapping a pencil against the table, you gave up. You decided that you would think over the offer another time, by yourself, weighing the pros and cons. Until then, it would be on the back burner. After checking the time, you decided it was time to pack up as well. Just before you could zip up your bag, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

Turning to look, you found a very handsome guy leaning towards you from one table over. His tan skin glowed under the harsh lighting and his sharp jaw rivaled Professor Kim’s. Odd, as you usually went ignored by his type.

“You really should pick new friends,” he said in a tone that was completely serious. You didn’t know this guy at all and he had not a flicker of amusement or teasing in his eyes. Who was he to be telling you how to live your life?

“Excuse me?” you said with a scoff.

His face didn’t falter for a second. “You should hang out with other people. You’re going to get hurt.”

Rolling your eyes your stood up and started to walk away. Eun Na came running back up, clearly out of breath. After swiping up her headphones that you never noticed had fallen to the floor, she tilted her head at you.

“What’s up?” she asked, studying your irritated expression. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” you replied, looking over your shoulder to the nosy stranger. He’d gotten up and was walking past the two of you, not even glancing in your direction as your eyes followed him. “Some people just need to learn to mind their own business.”

Eun Na followed your gaze and a fire lit in her eyes. Her jaw clenched with a sharp noise as her teeth clashed together and she grabbed your arm, pulling you towards the exit. “Come on. We should get you to class.”


	2. Jongdae

Microbiology was your least favorite class of the semester. And it wasn’t even because you were basically useless when it came to absorbing scientific information or keeping the different theories and discoveries straight. You did well enough to pass the class with a decent grade.

No, it was because you were stuck taking the class with Kim Jongdae.

You didn’t hate him. In fact, you might have even had a bit of a crush on him due to his good looks. Okay, and due to how sweet he could be… to everyone else. He mostly ignored you and he had a semi-good reason for it so you couldn’t completely blame him.

The first time you met Jongdae was at a house party. A house party that you didn’t want to go to in the first place. You were supposed to be going on a date with a guy from your Chinese Dynasties class, but he canceled at the last minute and made it abundantly clear there would be no rescheduling. You were in a miserable mood and all you want to do when you were in miserable moods was curl up under your soft throw blanket on the couch and watch a mind-numbing romantic comedy. But Eun Na was having none of that.

With more force than necessary, Eun Na dragged you out of your apartment and into her car, driving you to some basketball player’s parents’ house for an overly extravagant party you were pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to be having in the first place. Silently from the passenger’s seat, you cursed Eun Na who knew you hated crowds and drunk people. Crowds of drunk people were a category that you went nowhere near. But she didn’t seem to care that night.

As she parked down the street from the house that was located on the outskirts of the rich neighborhood it resided in, you talked yourself through the square breathing technique your dad had taught you when you were younger in an effort to calm your nerves. Eun Na forced you out of the car and you trudged slowly behind her.

The house was stuffed full of college students way beyond the fire safety code. Music blared from the front living room, making you wonder if the people standing right next to the speakers had permanently damaged eardrums. In the back was the kitchen where half-full bottles of vodka, tequila, and other alcohols were scattered all over the counter among abandoned solo cups and ripped open cardboard cases of beer. Eun Na didn’t let go of you until she was right in front of the liquor bottles, grabbing a two liter of coke in the process.

“One drink!” Eun Na yelled over the noise and chatter. “You only have to have one drink! Then I won’t nag you anymore!”

“Fine!” you growled back. Perhaps you could find a plant to pour it in once her back was turned. After shoving a rum and coke in your hand, she stared at you expectantly. Knowing she wouldn’t leave it alone until she saw you take a sip, you brought the cup to your lips. The mixed drink tasted nothing like the ones you’d been forced to try in the past. You couldn’t explain what it was, only that you wanted more.

In a time that was a record for you, you downed the drink and asked for another. Eun Na gladly obliged. Four drinks later and you were starting to feel it, both in your head and in your stomach. Stumbling to find a bathroom before it was too late, you’d ran into Jongdae in the hallway. He’d stared at you strangely, like you were the only one wandering around drunk and on the verge of being sick (hint: you most definitely weren’t). Hesitantly, he reached out to your swaying figure. And that’s when you threw up on his shoes.

After getting you to a bathroom, he made sure you were okay and then high-tailed it out of there. Needless to say, you hadn’t touched an alcoholic drink since.

That was at the end of last semester. To your relief, you hadn’t seen him again after that night. Until the fall semester started and you walked into your biology class to find him sitting right there in the second row. When the two of you made eye contact, the smile vanished from his face and every muscle in his jaw visibly stiffened. He cut off the contact and kept his gaze down. Your shoulders dropped, understanding why you wouldn’t exactly be his favorite person. Thinking it was best for everyone, you broke your seating rule and sat more towards the back so you wouldn’t be even in his peripheral.

It had been two months of excruciating humiliation. No matter what you did, he always seemed to get to class before you could. Being the friendly and personable type, he was always chatting away with someone around him. But as soon as you entered the classroom, his entire demeanor changed. Sometimes, he didn’t even need to be looking your direction. It was like he had a sixth sense for your presence and it created a dark cloud over him.

Today, like any other day, you simply kept your eyes down, not daring to look at him as you hurried to your seat near the back. Only when you were safe in your desk did you dare to look. Usually when you did, you just saw the back of his wavy, dark brown hair. It fell over his forehead at the perfect length and curled at the nape of his neck. Sometimes it would shake from his laughter and you wished you were closer to hear how it sounded. This was not one of those times.

When your eyes met his, you froze. Jongdae was turned around in his seat, staring up at you. But the look in his rich, russet-colored eyes was different than he’d ever given you before. There was genuine concern as his eyebrows knitted together. In a panic, you cut off the gaze, shrinking in your seat. Confused, you tried not to think too much into why he would seem worried for you while you were just embarrassed at how that little interaction was making your heart run a marathon.

What was wrong with you? You hardly knew the guy. Okay, so he was pretty attractive. But that was never the bases for your crushes in the past. And yet, here you were. You liked nice guys and that was problem. He was practically an angel. If you didn’t see him always volunteer to help out someone who didn’t understand or pick up pens that his neighbors dropped, you might have been able to completely ignore him and go on with your life. No such luck. Instead, you were forced to sit there and watch in complete awe without receiving the same. It seemed that no matter what, you couldn’t get Jongdae out of your head. 

There was something inside that was yelling at you to go take the seat next to him before that model-like girl arrived and took her usual place beside him. Where you wanted to be. But you just couldn’t do it.

Letting out a low groan, you laid your head down on the desk until the graduate teaching assistant turned off the lights to start the slide show on today’s lesson. When you risked it again, you look at Jongdae, who’d turned back around to the front like nothing had happened.

**

You were utterly exhausted as you stepped into your apartment. It was your lucky day since you didn’t have to go work at the coffee shop tonight. After about four hours in the library with Eun Na, you were all caught up on homework and free to spend the next day however you deemed fit. 

Well, there was your short morning class. Okay, and you did have a small afternoon shift at the shop. So really, you could spend your free time between eleven and four however you wanted to. Which meant dramas and junk food for five uninterrupted hours to look forward to and no homework to stress about.

Once the door was locked behind you, you dropped your bag on the couch and headed towards the kitchen to find something to munch on. A vibrating sensation from your back pocket made you jump. Pulling out your phone, you read the caller ID: Eun Na.

“Hello?” you answered, wedging the phone between your ear and shoulder while you shuffled leftovers and other foods around in your refrigerator.

“Hey, girl! What’s up?”

You laughed at Eun Na’s upbeat greeting as if you hadn’t just seen her. “Nothing much, just trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.” You picked up a white Styrofoam container, shaking it gently. “Chinese food from last Saturday is not a good choice, is it?”

“Ew, no. Throw that out.” There’s a slight shuffling on her end of the phone and then she was back. “Hey, you don’t work next Saturday evening, right?”

“Uh,” you looked up at your calendar that was magnetized onto the freezer door. “No, I don’t. Tae asked to if we could switch so I only work the mid-day shift. Why? What’s up?”

“A few friends from my neighborhood are having a bonfire and I want you to come with me.”

You whined. “Seriously, Eun Na! I said no more parties. You know what happen last time.”

The one secret you kept from Eun Na was your crush on Jongdae. You knew she would roll her eyes at you, having seen firsthand how he’d gone out of his way to avoid you. But she had heard about your embarrassing first meeting and it’d been your tool to avoid all future escapades.

“It’s not a party,” she argued. “It’s more like a kickback. Twelve of us at the most. Come on, I need my best friend there. Please.” Like a kicked puppy, she started whimpering. You couldn’t stand it when she did that.

No was no longer an option. You slid down to the old, peeling tile floor of your kitchen, leaning your back against the cabinets. “Okay, I’ll go. But not too late okay?”

Eun Na squealed. “Not a problem! Thank you, (y/n)! You’re the best!”

You rolled your eyes, not understanding what the big deal was. But it made Eun Na happy. And, considering what she’d done for you in the past, it was the least you could do for her.

Settling on yesterday’s pizza, you popped two slices on a plate in the microwave and waited for it yell so you knew it was done. Involuntarily, your mind drifted to Jongdae and the look he’d given you. It was almost like he was thinking something was going to happen to you, an accident or some other disastrous situation. Though you didn’t know the reasoning behind the expression, you didn’t think it was pity. If you were honest, you were glad to get some sort of interaction with him that wasn’t pure irritation.

The blaring noise from the microwave pulled your thoughts away from your unnerving classmate and to your stomach, which was gurgling with anticipation. In a somewhat un-ladylike manner, you scarfed down the pizza, remembering to take a few sips of water in between. Satisfied by dinner, but still not quite full, you went back to your freezer and pulled out the pint of chocolate ice cream resting on the top shelf. Then frowned when you took off the lid. Apparently, you had absentmindedly taking a spoonful here and there, leaving only a pitiful amount at the bottom of the cup. With a pout, you put the pint back in the freezer and grabbed your keys, knowing that small little bite was just not going to cut it.

Back out on the streets, you walked diligently to the corner store. The sun hadn’t completely set yet, but the sidewalks were already at a spooky level of darkness. This was a walk you had taken before, but something about the air was sending your senses into overdrive.

As always, you made it to the store and quickly picked out more chocolate ice cream from the cheapest brand. You grabbed M&Ms as a last minute treat for surviving the day. A pathetic excuse for more chocolate, but one you wouldn't disagree with. Grocery bag in hand and purse strewn across your shoulder, you exited the store just to run in what felt like a brick wall. You would have fallen to your butt right there on the concrete if a hand hadn’t reached out and grabbed your arm, steadying you out.

The one who had blocked your path was an obnoxiously tall man around your age. His light brown hair was disheveled on his forehead and his big eyes were wide with worry.

“I’m sorry!” he said quickly. “Are you okay?”

You took your arm back, smiling at him to let him know that you were fine. “All good. Have a good night.”

Before you could get fully past him, the guy stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. “Wait!”

Biting your cheek to keep your mouth shut from a snarky comment that you’d knew you would agonize over later, you turned around to look at him. “Yes?”

“Oh, um, well.” His eyes flickered around while he searched for an excuse. Shaking your head, you began to turn back.

“Just let her go, Chanyeol.”

You stopped. Jongdae appeared behind the tall one – apparently named Chanyeol – and looked at you with that irritated expression again. So much for the concern. To add to the surprise, the nosy guy from the student union walked up beside Jongdae and rounded out the trio. His look was softer this time, closer to indifferent than the cold stare from your earlier encounter.

You were suddenly very intimidated. All three boys were of different heights, but all of them were muscular and toned and definitely not the kind to be messed with. There was nothing about their stances that were threatening towards you, in fact Chanyeol was looking more like a neglected puppy with the frown on his face. But something in your gut was screaming that underneath their pretty faces was something very dangerous. It was best to get out of there.

“Have a good night.”

You only made it about five steps before Jongdae called out to you. Reluctantly, you glanced over your shoulder.

“Be careful.” Sincerity was clearly in his words, but you had a hard time swallowing his warning. You already knew to be careful. Who was he to try and act this way now?


	3. The Bonfire

Saying that it had been the weirdest week of your life would be an understatement.

The nosy guy and Chanyeol seemed to be all over campus all of a sudden. You tried to explain it away. Of course they would stick out to you now that you’d seen their faces. Wasn’t that basic psychology? Your brain automatically picks up on familiar faces? Granted, you weren’t that familiar with them - or at all really - but still.

And, to be honest, the student union wasn’t just your territory. They were allowed to study and hang out there just as much as you did.

But the other students didn’t stare. It seemed that every time you looked up in either of their directions, you met their gaze. Both of them were sitting a good distance away, one to your left and the other to your right forming a weird triangle with many other tables in between, but you still caught their stares. In a flash they looked away, like they were just scanning the room. And maybe they were, but it just didn’t feel like that was the answer.

Jongdae was acting strange as well. You only had class with him on Tuesdays and Thursdays and that used to be the only time you saw him. However, now out in the courtyard and on the paths on your way to class, he always seemed to be near. Not watching you like the others, just walking by. In fact, he never looked at you, even the one time he passed right behind you before you could enter the world science building. There was maybe a foot of space between the two of you, but it was like you were invisible. You watched him keep going, headed off to who knows where.

Class was a different story. He was rigid in his seat, unmoving. Until you came into the classroom and made eye contact with him. Then his body relaxed. Like a wave rippling through, his muscles let go of their tension and he looked away.

It was a relief when Saturday rolled around. You didn’t have to go on campus and wonder if you were going crazy. Okay, even as you laid there in bed willing yourself to get up and start your day, you still wondered if you were crazy. Too much caffeine? Too much studying? Too much chocolate?

You shivered in horror at the thought of it being the last one. What would life be without that delicious comfort?

With a moan, you pulled yourself out of bed and shuffled over to your small bathroom. The girl in the mirror was a bit scary looking with the bedhead and makeup settled under the eyes that you’d missed in washing your face the night before. Killing a little bit of time, you pulled at your skin and mess with your hair, putting it up in goofy fashions that made you laugh.

Breakfast was a quick adventure of toast and eggs, a rare treat as you didn’t have time to adequately make food beyond a freezer aisle meal during the week. After rinsing off the pan and plate, you went back to your bedroom to get dressed. The uniform for the coffee shop was nice and simple as well as making it easy to have replicas. Your white shirt with the company logo in the top left hand corner fit nicely to your curves. The black skinny jeans on the other hand, were a little more of a struggle to get on, but then again, weren’t all skinny jeans an exercise within themselves?

You packed a change of clothes in your backpack for the bonfire and headed out the door. Since your shift didn’t start until eleven and Eun Na was picking you up anyway, you opted to walk to work.

It was a nice day. The wind was barely present, just blowing enough to give off the scent of the different shops in the business district of town. Shining above was the sun surrounded by tiny bits of cloud that couldn’t block out the rays if they tried.

Still early when you arrived at the shop, you bought your own cup of coffee and took it to the back. Pulling up your hair in a ponytail, you sat at the manager’s desk and scrolled through your phone until it was time to clock in.

With it being the middle of the semester, Saturdays were always a bit crazy. Between those patrons just stopping by for a quick drink before going on with their shopping and those buzzed out students staying for hours on end to get all their homework done, there was hardly any time to rest from the beginning of your shift. Which was good for you since you had to be there until six.

Sometime around four-thirty, the foot traffic was dying down. You were cleaning a pile of porcelain mugs when Jongdae walked in. He came up to the counter and you searched around for any of your coworkers that could help him instead. No such luck.

Taking a deep breath, you gave him a half-hearted smile. “Hi.”

“Hey.” He looked around the shop for a second, scratching the back of his head. “How are you?”

You blinked. How are you? Why would he be asking you that? In automatic mode, you responded, “I’m good. How’s your Saturday going?”

“Stressful,” he said breathily. Running his fingers through his hair, Jongdae looked up at the menu. “Can I just get a coffee?”

“Okay…” you chewed on your bottom lip. “Do you want anything in your coffee? Or do you just want it black?”

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Jongdae huffed. “How do you take yours?”

Now it was your turn to scratch behind your ear. “Well, I usually like mine as our house coffee with two shots of mocha, two shots of white chocolate and a shot of espresso in a crème base.”

For some reason, your complicated answer made him laugh. And you finally got to hear it. It was light and airy, making your heart fly up with it. Your brain was racing at a hundred miles an hour, trying to think of another way to hear it again.

Calm down, (y/n). He’s still been a jerk to you.

Jongdae’s mood was lighter now. Not exactly happy, but a few steps above what he was when he walked in here.

“I’ll just have that.”

You nodded. “Here or to go?”

“To go.”

After he handed you his card and you closed out the transaction, you shifted over to make his drink. His eyes never left you as you pumped the mixes into the steaming fresh coffee. Sliding on the sleeve, you handed the paper cup over to Jongdae. He grabbed your arm with his other hand, holding you in place. His face was serious, scaring you.

“Don’t go to the bonfire,” he urged.

You yanked your arm, trying to free it. No one moved to help you, not noticing the grip you were trapped in. “How do you know about the bonfire?”

“That doesn’t matter,” he argued. “Just don’t go.”

One last pull, and you were free. Your skin burned where he’d touched it, but it wasn’t a painful feeling. In fact, if you weren’t careful, that feeling might just become an addiction. But that thought was quickly forgotten as Jongdae leaned in closer. His eyes shined an unnatural color - orange or yellow maybe - but you shook it off as a trick of the fluorescent lighting.

“I’m serious, (y/n).” His voice came out as a growl, deep from within his chest. “For your own good. Don’t go.”

You straightened up. “I think you should leave now.”

With a shake of his head that seemed more like a snap, he turned and stalked out the door, the bell chiming cheerfully above his head.

Six o’clock came around and you were hightailing it out of there, still a little shaken up about the run in with Jongdae. Eun Na was parked out front of the coffee shop, waiting for you. Before you could jump into the passenger’s seat, across the street you saw them again: Jongdae, sitting at a table outside the pizzeria staring after you. Chanyeol was in the chair next to him chowing down on a slice. The nosy guy was staring after you as well, rolling his eyes. This time they were joined by the blank boy from your folklore class. He was looking at Jongdae, his lips looked like they were moving as if he was talking, but at this distance you couldn’t be sure.

In the car, Eun Na was staring at the boys as well. Her face was twisted into a scowl. The tips of her knuckles were red and white from squeezing the steering wheel.

“Eun Na?”

Like a personality switch, her face lit up, the scowl replaced by a glowing smile. “Are you ready?”

Your eyes flickered to Jongdae one last time. Something inside wondered if you should listen to him, say you were sick and needed to cancel. But Eun Na was your friend. You knew her better and longer than you knew him.

“Absolutely.”

**

The fire was already crackling when the two of you arrived. Eun Na had taken much longer than you had to get ready so the sun was almost completely gone under the horizon when you arrived. Decked out in all black, she looked like a mistress of the night with her over-the-knee boots and hooded duster cardigan. You felt very out of place as her friends were dressed in a similar fashion while you just had on an off-the-shoulder gray sweater and white shorts. While they looked like Goth models, you felt like the nerdy college student you were.

Everyone who was already there was just standing around. If they were talking, it was so low that you couldn’t hear it. Looking at the surroundings, you tried to find any face that you recognized, but so far no such luck. Eun Na left you as soon as you arrived, running up to some guy who looked like he was still trying to outgrow Hot Topic.

“Not really your scene?”

A girl with dark eyes that were framed by long purple and black hair that fell to her hips in paper straight strands walked up to you. She had a water bottle in her hand with black lipstick stains around the rim.

“Eun Na’s the only one I know,” you admitted quietly.

“Well, I’m Tonya.” She held out her hand and you shook it politely.

“(y/n).”

She giggled. “You’re very cute, (y/n).”

Heat rose up in your cheeks. People were always telling you that. Eun Na was the sexy one, the seductive one. You were the klutzy, awkward, adorable one. That’s how everyone described you two, like yin and yang, complete opposites that complimented each other. It got annoying sometimes, but you learned to roll with it since you couldn’t exactly change who you were. Eun Na once had you try on one of her party outfits and you freaked out when you saw how much of your skin was exposed. Your one shoulder and legs out for the night air to nip at was more than plenty for your comfort zone.

“Thanks,” was all you could muster to say.

Eun Na finally joined you again, greeting Tonya cheerfully. She handed you a water bottle. The seal was already broken, but you didn’t pay any attention to it. Eun Na did that for you all the time. Taking a swig, you swished the water around in your dry mouth. The smoke was stinging your eyes and with the wind you just couldn’t escape it. After swallowing your first mouth full, you took another drink and then paused. There was a funny flavor to the water underneath that initial crisp taste.

A cloud began to form in your head, making it hard to comprehend what was going on around you. As you staggered, Tonya began to laugh. You turned to Eun Na who was smirking at you.

“Eun Na….”

“Sorry, (y/n).”


	4. Arrival of the Wolves

Consciousness slowly came back to you. The fog began to dissipate in your mind, letting you take in your surroundings just enough to know you’d been moved. Peeling open your eyes, you had to wait for your pupils to adjust to the new found darkness. You couldn’t move but you knew you were standing up. Glancing down, thick ropes were wrapped around your arms and torso, keeping you against what felt like a post digging into the space between your shoulder blades.

Black silhouettes wandered around in front of you a few feet below. Another figure stepped in front of you, but you could see exactly whose face was under the hood.

“Eun Na,” you cried, fighting against the ropes. “What is going on? This isn’t funny.”

She shook her head, pulling some sort of sack out of her robe. “Oh, (y/n). You always were so innocent. So trusting. This past year has been almost too easy.”

“What are you talking about?” Tears were already forming in your eyes, making Eun Na just a blurred outline. How could she do this to you? To anyone? “Why am I tied up?”

“We need you, (y/n),” she said simply as if that explained anything. “I’m sorry that it has to go this way, but you’re the sacrifice we need to gain the upper hand.” She looked up at the sky and you followed her gaze. “It’s the blood moon. The night we’ve been waiting for.” Sure enough, the moon glowed a harsh, mocking orange-red above you. From the little sack, she pulled out a handful of dust or ash - you couldn’t really tell - and sprinkled it on your head and around your feet. Little particles landed in your mouth and nose, making you cough. Once she was finished, she jumped down from the platform, leaving you alone.

The male Eun Na had originally spoken with at the bonfire walked up in front of you and lit a torch. Flames flickered in front of you, giving you a better view of your surroundings. Everyone had put on dark robes and were standing around you in a circle. Trees surrounded you on all sides letting you know that you were nowhere near help.

You couldn’t believe it. From the sticks piled around you to the wooden post you could feel under your hands, the only conclusion you could come to was they were about to burn you at the stake. Eun Na had called you a sacrifice. What the hell was she into?

“Eun Na, please!” you yelled, the tears now flowing over. You were ignored as the man stepped forward and threw the glowing torch at your feet. The flames completely engulfed the wood around you as you struggled against your binds. It was pointless, but you couldn’t stop yourself from calling out, “Help! Someone, please help me!”

The smoke grew, engulfing you like a blanket. It filled your lungs and clogged your throat, causing you to cough violently just to try and clear your airways. All at once, the people around you started chanting in sync. What they were saying, you couldn’t make out, but it wasn’t any language you knew.

Then howls ripped through the air. Breaking up their circle, the crazies started scattering, gathering in groups of two or three, their chanting stopped. It was hard to see through the smoke, but several giant figures that were certainly not human emerged from the trees. They walked on all fours, towering above the others and moved in synchronized pairs.

Screams erupted, soon mixing with snapping jaws and growls.

Wolves?

They were all different colors and sizes but that didn’t matter to Eun Na and her friends. They scrambled around, running away from the beasts and into the trees, forgetting all about you.

You tried to stay awake but the smoke was becoming too much. It clogged your throat, making it impossible to breathe properly. Becoming too heavy, your head started to bob, your eyes flickering to try and soothe the stinging sensation. Just before it became overwhelming, one of the lighter colored wolves jumped at you, over the flames and colliding with your body, sending you, the pole, and itself to the ground and away from the danger. A warm, fur-covered body was hovering over you, yellow eyes shining down at you. And then you lost all consciousness.

**

When you came to again, you were laying down on your back on a couch. The crinkly leather had a musky smell to it that was strangely comforting. A heavy wool blanket kept you warm. Sitting up, you took in your surroundings. You were in an ordinary living room, complete with a large flat screen hanging on the wall to your left above a red brick fireplace. To your right there was a hallway straight ahead and another entry way that led to another area of the house.

Footsteps echoed off the walls. Scrambling, you pushed yourself further into the back of the couch, knowing that running would just be useless as you didn’t have any idea of the layout and would probably just corner yourself. For now, you were happy that you weren’t burnt to a crisp. Take on one thing at a time.

A door opened at the far end of the room. The person who stepped through made your jaw drop.

“Professor Kim?”

Your World Folklore teacher smiled down at you. “Hi, (y/n). Here you can just call me Junmyeon.”

Slowly, he walked over to you and knelt in front of you, placing a hand gently on your knee, only the blanket separating your skins.

“How are you feeling?”

Breathing was still hard, but you were alive. “I’m okay. How-” cough, “how did you find me?”

Professor - er, Junmyeon grimaced. “That’s a bit of a story. I think we should take things slow.”

You shook your head, tears threatening to come to the surface remembering Eun Na’s smirk as she tried to kill you. “I don’t understand – cough - what happened. Eun Na - she was my friend….”

“She was never your friend, (y/n),” Junmyeon stated. “This whole time, she was planning to kill you. Right from the start when the two of you met.”

A sob escaped. Junmyeon leaned forward, stroking your head as you hid your face in your hand. You believed him of course, as Eun Na’s taunting words echoed in your head. She’d said it been too easy to trick you and of course it was. You were too desperate for a friend, for someone to trust and lean on, you took hold of the first person who stepped up. And that person happened to be a psychopath.

A clamoring noise broke your comforting silence. Several more bodies came stumbling through the door, tripping over each other.

“Enough!” Junmyeon yelled. They all froze. Eight boys stood just inside the room, staring at you. Among them were Jongdae and his friends. Jongdae’s eyes flickered back and forth between you and the contact with Junmyeon. You could have sworn you heard a deep chest growl come from your classmate. The sound was cut off the moment Junmyeon stood up, staring him down.

“How are you feeling?” Chanyeol shifted forward, grinning down at you.

You shrugged. “Fine, I guess. Considering the circumstances.”

He nodded. Jongdae stepped up, sitting down on the coffee table across from you, resting his forearms on his knees.

“How did you know?” you whispered. He had warned you - begged you not to go. He knew that you would be in danger.

Sighing, he dropped his head. “It’s a long story.”

“She needs to know,” Junmyeon said sternly. “Tell her. That’s an order.”

Rubbing his hands over his face, Jongdae straightened up. “I’m sure it’s actually kind of obvious, but Eun Na is part of a coven. She’s a witch.”

You shook your head, defiant of that answer. You wanted the truth, not a fairytale. “No. Witches are a bedtime story. A nightmare that humans dreamt up to explain things away and blame unknown circumstances on. They aren’t real.”

“They are real,” Jongdae insisted. “And they’re not the only story that’s actually true.” He paused. “What do you remember from last night?”

Pulling your knees up to you, you wrapped your arms around them, not really wanting to relive last night’s events. “I remember going to the bonfire with Eun Na. She gave me a water bottle and I guess it was drugged or something. I woke up tied to a stake like we were back in Salem. One of the guys lit the sticks under me on fire. I couldn’t breathe, there was so much smoke. And then-” you stopped. The animals, too large to be an average wolf, but moved too quickly and gracefully to be bears. “No, no, I must have started hallucinating. Lack of oxygen to the brain or something.”

“What did you see?” Jongdae pushed.

You swallowed. “Wolves. Giant Wolves. They chased everybody away. One of them saved me from the fire.”

“That was us,” Chanyeol declared. Jongdae turned on him, glaring a killer look.

You shook your head. “No. No, that’s not possible. That would make you-”

“Werewolves.” Nosy boy was the one who finished for you.

“Werewolves don’t exist,” you insisted. There had to be another explanation.

“Yes, they do, (y/n),” Junmyeon said gently. “We are a pack who can shift into wolves.”

This was too much. In less than twenty-four hours, your entire world of normalcy and what was widely accepted as truth had been turned around, shuffled, and completely destroyed. The person you had considered your best friend was a witch who - for some reason still unknown - had tried to sacrifice you by burning you at the stake. Now werewolves were real and apparently you were sitting in a room with a pack of nine.

“I still don’t understand,” you whispered. “I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”

Junmyeon sat down next to Jongdae. The latter gave him a look but said nothing. If any of your reading was correct, Junmyeon seemed to be the alpha.

“I think it’s best to start at the beginning,” Junmyeon offered. “Werewolves are the natural enemies of witches.”

You frowned. “I thought that was vampires.”

He laughed. “No, witches hate us the most. Because a witch created us.”

“Created you?”

“Yes.” He ran his fingers through his hair, turning into teacher mode. “A thousand years ago - my research isn’t too exact - a witch cursed a man who had rejected her. She decided that since he didn’t want to be a part of her world, she would cut him off from the rest of his own. He was cursed to be separated from everyone else, to be different and isolated. And so, she changed him into a man who transformed into a wolf. It’s not just the moon that changes us. It could be a loss of temper or just because we want to.”

“A rougarou,” you concluded.

Junmyeon laughed. “You’ve been paying attention in class. I’m glad to know that. Yes, thankfully we fall under that category. Another thing to be thankful for is something the witch didn’t foresee when she had first cast her spell. We’re impervious to their magic.” Your eyes grew at this new piece of information, but you kept quiet. “For several generations, we’ve been at peace with the coven here in town when the wolves could easily chase them out of our territory. For reasons we don’t know of yet, they’ve suddenly decided that we’re enemies again.”

“Okay,” you nodded, amazed at yourself for being able to follow along. “So, we’re back to why I’m suddenly involved in this.”

“I had to ask a few friends from out of town, but apparently there’s a spell that could take away our protection from their magic.” He looked you in the eye. “It’s a spell that has to be performed under the blood moon and involves the sacrifice of an unclaimed wolf mate.”

You blinked. “Unclaimed wolf mate?” Now you were lost. “What is that?”

Junmyeon exchanged looks with Jongdae, who stood up and started pacing the living room.

“You know the concept of soulmates, of course,” Junmyeon assumed. When you didn’t protest or counter him, he went on. “It’s the same for wolves, but more real. More serious. I believe it was nature’s way of balancing out the curse we’re under.” Jongdae scoffed, but he was ignored. “When a wolf meets his mate, that’s it. Wolves in nature mate for life and it’s the same for us. There is one person we’re meant to be with and when we meet them, the bond is formed and we’re connected for the rest of our lives. According to destiny, there’s no one else. We’re drawn to our mates, willing to die for them. They usually feel the same draw, though in a different way. More feeling than instinct.”

The pieces were starting to fall into place. “So, what you’re saying is that I’m one of your guys’ mate?”

He nodded. “Yes. Unfortunately, you haven’t been claimed yet. That made you vulnerable to the witches.”

“So, they could use me in their spell,” you concluded. You looked around at the boys, some were smiling at you, others were expressionless. One in particular wasn’t even glancing your way. “So, because the forces of magic seem to think it’s funny, I’m supposed to be with one of you guys? Forever?”

“Yes, you are.”

You bit your bottom lip, scared to ask your next question. “Do you know who?”

Eight heads turned to look at Jongdae, who’d finally stopped pacing. He shifted his body in your direction, slowly raising his gaze to meet yours. The truth was staring you in the face and you secretly cursed Mother Nature.


	5. Unwanted

No one spoke for a minute or two. The silence was maddening and you pleaded in your mind for Jongdae to say something. You couldn’t find the exact words to say yourself and you wanted answers from him. If you were his mate, with this instinctual pull towards you that was nearly impossible to fight, why had he treated you with such disdain?

Clearing his throat, Junmyeon stood up. “Alright, everyone. Clear out. Give them room to talk.”

With a few grumblings, they shuffled out single file. Junmyeon closed the door behind him, finally leaving the two of you alone. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Jongdae took a seat on the now vacant coffee table, staring down at his hands.

You couldn’t take it anymore.

“How long have you known?” Part of you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it wasn’t an automatic process. Maybe it took time for the pull to develop.

“Since the party.”

And maybe you were completely wrong.

You let out a humorless laugh. “So, you’ve known for months? When did you find out that they were going to try and kill me?”

Jongdae ruffled his hair, looking off to the side. “We wondered from the beginning. Since I met you and realized you were friends with Eun Na, we’ve been thinking they were up to something. She would do things that seemed suspicious, especially going out of her way to keep you away from the whole pack. A month ago, Chanyeol and Baekhyun overheard some people from her coven talking about the ‘ritual’ and after some time we figured out exactly what they were planning on doing.”

“A month!” You jumped up, your hands squeezed into fists. Violence was not in your DNA, but now you wanted nothing more than to punch this stupid werewolf in the face. “You’ve known for a month that they were going to try and kill me and you didn’t think to do something more about it? If the spell called for an unclaimed mate then why didn’t you just claim me?”

“Because I didn’t want a mate!” Jongdae was now standing as well, staring down at you. His chest was heaving up and down and his eyes shined that strange yellow color again. “I’ve seen what’s happened to Minseok and Baekhyun. Jongin and Yixing are even worse. I didn’t want that. I don’t like being tied down. Someone clinging to me all the time is nowhere on my list of priorities. So I fought it, okay? I’ve been fighting the pull.”

He didn’t want you. That was something that you were used to, but with him - knowing that underneath it wasn’t just a lack of interest but a fight against destiny or his genes - it was a thousand times worse. He thought of you as a parasite without even giving you a chance. “So why not just let them kill me? Then your problems would be solved.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Jongdae countered. “A wolf protects their mate at all costs. We don’t have a choice. Ignoring you was impossible.”

“But you didn’t want save me,” you concluded. “All you did originally was tell me not go. You could have explained all this to me when you found out they were going to kill me. You could have told me about being mates and how Eun Na was a witch, but you chose not to. Because you don’t want to care about me. I’m nothing but a nuisance to you and you don’t even want take the chance to get to know me.”

The tears were piling up on your bottom lid and to be perfectly honest you had no intention of stopping them. You didn’t like to cry (really, did anyone?), but you gave no effort to stop because you wanted Jongdae to know how much he was hurting you, how loud the words of his actions were.

“Do you even realize how you’ve been treating me since the party?” you continued. “I’ve been feeling like a child or a yapping puppy that you’ve been completely disgusted by. Okay, so our meeting wasn’t exactly the most romantic, but you didn’t have to act that way. And now finding out about all of this? I think I would have preferred to burn at the stake.”

Not waiting for his side of the argument, you ran to the door, throwing it open.

“(y/n), wait!”

Slam!

You hardly paid attention to where you were going, just needing out. Through the empty front parlor, you found the main door and went outside, stopping at the sight.

Miles of hundred-foot-tall pines surrounded the property. The front porch seemed to wrap around at least three-fourths of the house. You went down the front steps and turned around. A big blue farmhouse filled your vision. It was at least two stories high with a visible attic. The railing and trimming were a pristine white. There was a large open field all around the house before the tree line, the grass already a depressing dead brown.

It was a lot like the little fantasy you had created in your head. A quiet place to get away from everything. Unfortunately, it was already ruined before you could properly appreciate it. Now, all you wanted was to get away.

But you had no way out. You didn’t even know which way town was or how far from civilization you were at the moment. So, instead, you opted to just avoid the inside of the house. Walking over to the far left corner of the porch, you hopped up on the railing and leaned back against the supporting pillar, letting your right leg hang off the side as you other foot kept you steady.

A small part of you was hoping that Jongdae would come find you. Maybe he would apologize, say that he was wrong and he wanted to start over. But that was a useless fantasy.

Jongdae appeared in the field, several hundred feet away from you near the tree line. He was shirtless, only wearing a pair of sports shorts or boxers - from this distance you couldn’t quite tell. He looked to your direction before breaking out to the run. Midstride he jumped and what landed was an impossibly large ashy blonde wolf that soon disappeared within the pines.

The sudden transformation made you jump, nearly losing balance on the thin railing.

“He’s just going to need time.”

Junmyeon approached you slowly, leaning against the opposite poll and facing you.

You scoffed. “He’s going to need time? I’m the one who just found out about this. He’s known for months. He hardly knows me and he’s already decided that I’m not good enough to be his mate.”

“I know, but he’s stubborn,” Junmyeon added. “He prefers to do things his own way. Being told what to do is not one of his favorite things.”

“But he never thought about what this could do to me.” You turned to face away from the field, swinging your leg over so both feet were now on the same side of the railing. Swinging your feet gently with the wind, you kept your eyes on the wooden panels that made up the flooring of the porch. “Can I just go home?”

“No, (y/n),” he answered sternly. “You can’t.”

Your jaw dropped as you stared at him. “What? Why not? You said they needed the blood moon in order to complete the spell. It’s gone now.”

Junmyeon sighed, running a hand through his hair. “That’s true. For that particular spell. But they could still harm you, use you against us. An unclaimed mate is rare. The magic isn’t manifested until the two mates meet. Before this, I’ve never heard a long-term unclaimed mate.”

You threw your arms up in the air as you landed on your feet, utterly at a loss. “Then what am I supposed to do? Huh? Why does my life have to come to a complete stop? What about school? What about my job?”

Junmyeon walked over to you, placing his hand on your shoulder. “I’m taking care of the school part. It won’t take much persuading from me to have your professors email you the assignments and lessons and you can do them here. As for your job, one of us will just have to sit with you during your shifts if you’re not able to take a leave of absence.”

“Great,” you said sarcastically. “I get babysitters.”

“We’ll try to make you as comfortable as possible here,” he promised. “In the meantime, I’ll talk to Jongdae.”

You set your jaw, staring off to the side. Really, you didn’t have a choice. Surrounded by nine werewolves gave you no outs. This was all Jongdae’s fault. Your life was perfectly fine before he came along. Now what life did you have anymore?

“Okay,” you agreed reluctantly. “I guess I don’t really have a say, so I’ll cooperate.”

The smile Junmyeon gave you was one of sympathy. It was still strange that your professor was standing in front of you like this. Teachers were always supposed to be those people who you saw on a regular basis, but never really got to know on a personal level, as if without school they didn’t really exist. But here you were, standing on his porch and learning his darkest secret about turning into a giant dog. Hopefully this doesn’t fall under inappropriate student-teacher relationships.

“Come on,” he put his hand on your back, guiding you to the front door. “Let’s get some food in you.”

At the mention of a meal, your stomach went crazy, the gurgling apparently caught by Junmyeon, who chuckled. No one else seemed to be on the first level of the house as the two of you made your way to the kitchen. Junmyeon had you sit at the L-shaped island while he searched the fridge.

“To be honest, cooking is not my specialty,” he admitted, scratching his head. “Unless you like ramen?”

You shook your head. “Not the biggest fan, actually. But if that’s all you have–”

“No, no, no. We’ll find you something.”

Another five minutes went by and you constantly fought the urge to push Junmyeon away from the fridge and find something yourself. He was being polite so you could be patient. However, your mother always said the only time you were a cranky teenager was when you were hungry and it was rarely pretty.

Finally, he started pulling ingredients out of the fridge and searched the cabinets for non-perishables.

“I hope this tastes alright,” he mumbled.

“Should I supervise?”

The boy from your folklore class came into the kitchen from the back door, that blank look still on his face. Junmyeon looked relieved when he saw the younger wolf.

“Oh, good. Someone who can actually cook.” He quickly moved out of the way while the newcomer looked over the ingredients on the counter, putting some away and replacing a few with other foods or spices.

No one spoke for a few moments. The only noise came from the ticking rice cooker and meat sizzling in the pan. Junmyeon sat down next to you on your left, folding his hands together in front of him on the counter.

“This is Kyungsoo, by the way,” he motioned to the chef. “You probably recognize him from class. He’s the resident chef.”

At the sound of his name, Kyungsoo, turned to you, giving you a small smile before going back to the food. It was a nice smile, lighting up his face in a way you hadn’t seen yet. You couldn’t help but smile back.

“I’m not that good,” he said, his low voice somehow very soothing. “I’m just the only not too lazy to cook.”

“It’s hard to cook for nine plus mouths,” Junmyeon whined. It was strange to see him so relaxed and open. While the air of authority and respect was still very much apparent, he was much more approachable here.

“Does everyone in the pack go to the university?” you asked. You’d seen at least six of them on campus, but the others you couldn’t recognize.

Junmyeon nodded. “For the most part. Minseok’s only there part of the time, working on his doctorate. It’s easier to keep track of everyone, keep them out of trouble. And if there’s an emergency, it’s quick to get everyone together.”

You nodded, understanding the logic. “And everyone lives here?”

“Mm-hm,” he replied. “This farmhouse has been in my family for four generations. It’s built to hold a large pack, although this is the largest pack that’s ever been in this area. So things get a little crowded around here.”

“Really?” you frowned. Kyungsoo put a glass of water down in front of you and handed you a napkin. After thanking him, you turned back to Junmyeon. “Why is this the biggest pack?”

The two wolves in the kitchen exchanged glances, any cheery atmosphere from before now dissipated.

“Majority of the pack are orphans,” Junmyeon explained. “There’s other enemies out there beyond just a few bitter witches. Sehun and I grew up here, but the others just kind of wandered in. Except for Jongdae.”

Kyungsoo stopped his stirring of the pan mid stroke.

You were cautious as you asked, “What happened to Jongdae?”

Sighing, Junmyeon turned around in his chair, resting his arm on the back of the stool. You followed his gaze to find Jongdae standing near the kitchen entrance that led from the rest of the house. He was fully clothed again and his face displayed his displeasure.

“I was dropped off with a normal family when I was two.” The tone of his answer implied that there would be no more details given. He sat down at the breakfast booth just a little off to the side, a far distance from you.

If he kept this up, you were going to go insane staying in this house. In your mind, you were still furious with him and wanted nothing to do with him. But your body… it was like it was crying out for him, screaming at you to stand up and settle into his side or sit on his lap or doing just about anything that would put you in direct contact with him. This feeling had been with you since the party but never to this degree. Was it because you now knew what it was? Or was it just getting stronger now that you were in Jongdae’s presence for longer than an hour about twice a week?

Chanyeol and another tall boy with sandy blonde hair walked in from the hall laughing about something. When they spotted you, Chanyeol waved before sliding into the booth across from Jongdae with the other following suit.

“Hey, (y/n).”

You nodded back. “Hi.”

“(y/n), this Sehun,” Junmyeon introduced.

“He’s the runt of the pack,” Chanyeol added.

Sehun smirked at you. “Only the runt in age. Trust me.”

His flirty remark along with his wink had just gone right over your head, preferring not to think about what he might be implying. A growl erupted from Jongdae, making you jump. It continued deep and loud until Junmyeon turned on him.

“Jongdae!”

It cut off without warning. His gaze flickered over to you, seemingly conflicted about something. He looked again at the boys in front of him and then the other two on your side of the room as well. Huffing, he crossed his arms and stared out the window, not looking at you.

“(y/n).” Kyungsoo’s low, soft voice took your attention away from Jongdae as he set a plate down in front of you. The bits of chicken were covered in a dark, glossy sauce that gave off a delicious smell that was making your mouth water.

After being handed a fork, you dug in and your stomach rumbled in gratitude.

“This is amazing!” you exclaimed before taking another bite.

A little dust of blush formed on Kyungsoo’s cheeks. “It’s really not that good.”

You held up a finger to indicate just a second while you finished chewing. Once your mouth was empty again, you smiled, “As a college student on a budget, any home cooked meal that didn’t come straight from a box is like a five star restaurant meal.”

Junmyeon laughed beside you. “She’s right about that.”

“How would you know?” Chanyeol scoffed. “You never even had to leave home for college.”

Ignoring his comment, Junmyeon turned back to you. “When you’re done, I’ll take you to your place so you can pack some of your clothes. I doubt you’d want to wander around in any of ours.” His eyes flickered over Jongdae, whose fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were red and white, stretched over the bone and tendons protruding visibly.

Needing the distance from your so-called “destiny”, you quickly gobbled up the rest of the food on your plate. You grabbed the now empty dish to go wash it clean, but Kyungsoo swiped it out of your hands.

“I’ll clean up. You go ahead and some things to make you more comfortable.”

You smiled at his kindness and slipped off the stool before looking at Junmyeon.

“I’ll take her.”

Jongdae stood up out of the booth as you fought to suppress a groan. Being in a car with him for who knows how long as you drove to the city was going to be absolute torture. You turned to Junmyeon, silently pleading to him to intervene. Instead, the traitor tossed Jongdae his keys with a sigh.

“There and back,” Junmyeon ordered. “No other stops.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he deadpanned. Without looking at you, he walked out of the kitchen.

You sent one last look of mercy to Junmyeon, who just gave you a pitiful smile. Sighing, you shuffled out of the kitchen.


	6. Jealousy

It was a quiet drive during the nearly one hour trip just to get to the outskirts of the city. You squished yourself up against the window, trying to put as much space between the two of you as possible in the confined area.

It wasn’t easy. Every minute or so your eyes flickered to Jongdae’s hand that was clutching the gear shift with a strong grip, even though the car was an automatic. Your fingers were begging you to let them reach out and force themselves between his skin and the leather shift, intertwining with his own strong phalanges. Squeezing your eyes shut, you concentrated on the cold glass pressed against your forehead.

The car came to a stop and you opened your eyes. Jongdae had parked outside your apartment. At first you were confused to how he knew where you lived, but then it became obvious. They weren’t outside that convenience store by accident that night. With a sigh, you unbuckle your seatbelt and got out of the car. Jongdae did the same, following you up the stairs to the building and then up the elevator to your door.

Though you rarely had visitors, you were secretly grateful that you had a tendency to stress clean. No embarrassing laundry left out or dishes in the sink with three day old grease caked on.

Jongdae shut the door behind him. You flicked on the lights which in turn started up the ceiling fan. As the air circulated around the room, Jongdae took a deep breath and an angry roar ripped out of his chest making you jump, your back slamming into the wall of the hallway. A continuous growl vibrated from his chest as he stalked past you, entering your bedroom and bathroom without your permission.

“Do you mind explaining to me what the hell that was all about?” you asked once he rejoined you in the hallway.

“Your place smells like her,” he hissed.

“Her?” you blinked. Oh, right. “Eun Na? Of course my apartment smells like her. She practically lived here most days.” Thinking about it hurt now. Back then, you thought she enjoyed your company, your wine and movies nights, and girl time. Now you understood she was just keeping an eye on you. How did she really feel about you? Did she find you annoying? Obnoxious? Probably. She probably couldn’t wait to be rid of you.

He growled again. “Let’s get your stuff and leave.”

Rolling your eyes, you shuffled to your bedroom, pulling a suitcase out of the closet and throwing it on the bed. The werewolf stood in the in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the frame. It was hard to ignore him as you started taking sweaters off their hangers and folding them to take with you. The weather was getting colder so you tried to focus on that aspect and packed accordingly instead of wondering what it would be like to run up to him and throw your arms around his waist.

This was driving you insane. Wanting to hate him, but being unable to due to your feelings that you couldn’t shove away. The only thing that kept you from going completely crazy was finally having an answer, finally understanding that this pull towards him was simply because you were his mate - his unwanted mate.

Your hands froze as you put a book on top of the pile of jeans in the suitcase. Thinking back to the novels you read in high school when the supernatural ruled the market, you’d never come across the situation where the two fated characters didn’t want to be together. Or even where one of them wanted out. Granted, that was fiction, but it was all you had to go on.

Why couldn’t he have just accepted the fact that the two of you were mates? Were you really that bad? Would he have been more accepting if you hadn’t thrown up on him in your first meeting? Were you that unattractive? Okay, you weren’t a supermodel, but you didn’t think you were grotesque in anyway.

Despite how he’s treated you, you were willing to go along with this. You knew you wouldn’t just get over him. He never acted malicious towards you, never bullied you. He simply ignored you, sent a not-so-nice look every now and again. Nothing too terrible to make you run away. Although part of you wished he had so you could have an excuse. 

You hadn’t realized that you hadn’t moved for a substantial amount of time until Jongdae pushed off the doorframe and stood beside you.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. His voice was soft for the first time since you woke up, like he was genuinely concerned. It sped up your heartbeat, along with his close proximity. You didn’t want to think about whether or not he could hear it. That only messed your head up even more.

Nodding but not looking at him, you went back to packing, going through a list in your head to take your thoughts elsewhere. You ignored him as you walked to your bathroom, throwing necessary toiletries into a travel bag. Once you’d stuffed your suitcase with everything you thought you’d need, you zipped it up. Before you could grab the handle and drag it off your bed, however, Jongdae reached out and took it from you, his hand making the briefest of contact with your skin.

The heat generated from that millisecond touch sent a shock wave through your body. Jongdae must have felt it too as he clenched his jaw and stalked out of the room, dragging your suitcase behind him. You ran after him, worried that he might actually leave you behind without thinking about it.

It was silence once again on the drive home. The tension was thick in the car, suffocating you. Jongdae never released his muscles and refused to look at you, going as far as to not check the right lane before crossing over the dotted line.

Parking in the gravel driveway off to the side of the house, he jumped out and went straight to the trunk to get your suitcase. You wanted nothing more than to run inside and find solace with one of the other wolf boys, whether it be Junmyeon or Kyungsoo, but you didn’t want to be rude or cowardly. He wasn’t your servant.

So, instead, you trudged behind him, not asking anything as he headed towards the now empty kitchen and went up the narrow staircase that you hadn’t detected before. He stopped near the end of the hallway of the second floor and pointed towards a door.

“You’ll stay here,” he informed you, still not looking at you. “My room is right over there,” he pointed to the door directly across from you, “if you need anything.”

You nodded your understanding, scratching behind your ear. Watching him turn on his heels and leave was painful. With a sigh, you opened the door and dragged your suitcase inside, closing yourself off from the rest of the house for a little bit.

The room was pretty bare, a full sized bed off to the right, along with a dresser and desk on the opposite end being the only decorations. There was no bathroom, meaning you would have to share with the boys. Jongdae never told you where said bathroom was and you didn’t want to start randomly opening doors. You made a mental note to ask someone since you really wanted to take a shower. Your hair still smelled like smoke which was starting to make your stomach sick.

Unpacking made your temporary displacement feel more permanent, but you hoped it would also make the room feel more like home. No longer able to take the smell of last night’s event clinging to you, you grabbed your travel bag and left the room.

Jongdae hadn’t gone to his room when he left so you bypassed it in favor of finding someone downstairs. Loud chattering and yells bounced off the walls and you followed it to the living room.

The TV was on, but hardly anyone was paying attention to it. Wolf boys were spread out everywhere, some lounging on the couch while others were sprawled out on the floor. Junmyeon was sitting in a chair a little off to the side, watching the shenanigans with a smile. Jongdae was not among the crowd, but there was another girl there sitting in the lap of one of the boys who was on the floor.

All at once the chattering stopped when you entered, making you clutch the bag to your chest as some sort of protection.

“Did you get everything you needed from your house?” Junmyeon asked.

You nodded. “Yeah, I did. But, um,” you chewed on the inside of your cheek. “I don’t know where the bathroom is and I still kind of smell like a sweaty bonfire, so I was wondering….”

“You can use my bathroom.” Junmyeon volunteered, standing up from his seat. “It’s more private.”

You could feel the warmth radiating from your cheeks. “Thank you.”

He nodded, motioning for you to follow him back up the stairs. The master bedroom was at the end of the hallway near your assigned space. He opened his door and led you inside.

His room was twice the size of your own along with a walk-in closet. The bathroom was grand but still homey in a country kind of feel. The shower was separate from the large tub, adding to its luxury. Brown fluffy towels hung from the railing next to sliding glass door.

“Hides the dirt,” Junmyeon teased as tugged on one of the towels.

You laughed along with him and a proud smile stretched across his face.

“Take your time. Whenever you’re ready, come back downstairs. Hae In wants to meet you.”

Hae In? That must have been the girl.

You nodded and he left you alone. Locking the door, you stripped out of your old clothes, letting the water warm up as it sprayed from the nozzle. Immediately, you felt refreshed, letting the water soak your hair and wash the bad night away. It was still permanently etched into your brain, but at least the physical evidence was going down the drain.

Not wanting to make everyone downstairs wait too long for you, you kept your shower short, simply washing your hair and scrubbing your skin. The bathroom was full of steam and the mirror was completely fogged up when you stepped out of the shower. Using the towel Junmyeon had pointed out, you dried yourself off and brushed your hair, getting any tangles out. Then the horror hit you.

While you’d remembered everything you needed to wash up, you forgot about a fresh set of clothes to change into. Groaning, you geared yourself up, making sure the towel was securely wrapped around you before you gathered up your things and crept out of the bathroom. Peaking your head out of Junmyeon’s bedroom, you scanned the hallway. After deciding the coast was clear, you tiptoed to your own room. Unfortunately, you made it about two steps and had turned to shut the door when Jongdae emerged out of his room.

You froze, unable to believe that you’d been spotted by the person you would have posted last on your list to see you this way. It felt like a western movie standoff with neither of you moving.

Or maybe more like a deer spotting a hunter was a more accurate description. You certainly felt like a defenseless fawn, unable to make any sudden movements. The look on Jongdae’s face was frightening. His nostrils flared, taking a deep breath while his eyebrows were pulled together so tight a deep harsh line was etched in between them. Just barely you were able to see his arms shaking with his hands balled up into fists. Then, he turned around and went back into his room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

The noise broke you out of your trance. You sprinted to your room, heart racing in your chest. What could you have possibly done to make him so angry? Was showering so wrong?

Going back to the square breathing, you were able to calm yourself again to be able to get dressed. You’d noticed the house was a bit chilly, so you went ahead and slipped on an oversized sweater and a pair of jeans. Ruffling your hair one more time, you talked yourself into going back downstairs. Then a knock came from your door.

Jongdae stood in the hall, a small pile of folded gray towels in his hands.

“Here.” He held them out for you to take. You did, careful to avoid any skin-to-skin contact. “Use these instead. Please.”

That last word took you by surprise. All you could do was nod.

“Are you going downstairs?” he asked. Again, you nodded. He motioned with his head to the stairs. “Let’s go. Or else a search party will come for you.”

Placing the towels on the bed to put away later, you followed Jongdae down the stairs, your eyes trained on his right hand. You just wanted to reach out and grab it, let it be your anchor before entering the crowded living room. His fingers were only a few inches from yours, easily within grabbing distance.

You hated this feeling. This constant nagging to touch him, to hold him close. How did the others handle this aching pain? Did Jongdae feel this too? If he did, you admired his self-control, no matter how angry you were with his rejection. That certainly still hurt. Deep down, you were a bit of a romantic and had always believed in the idea of soulmates. You were never prepared for the notion that your other half could actually dislike the idea of being with you.

Once again you were hit with the high volume of multiple voices speaking to and over each other. Three more girls had joined the group since you left earlier. Too many people crammed into the social area was making you uneasy. Instinctually, you hid behind Jongdae.

With a shake of his head, he side-stepped, leaving you exposed. Everyone was friendly, letting the talking die down naturally this time, instead of cutting it off like ripping out a headphone jack.

“Feel better, (y/n)?” Junmyeon asked.

You nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Jongdae scowled, but made no comment. You still weren’t sure as to why he was so upset about you using Junmyeon’s bathroom. It’s not like you used his body wash and now smelled like him.

You nearly smacked yourself in face. No, you didn’t use his soap, but you did use his towel which, to a being with heightened senses, probably reeked of the alpha. Why would he care if you smelled a bit like Junmyeon? Why should he care at all?

The thought made your eyebrows pulled together and your mouth form a frown.

Chanyeol patted the empty space next to him after gaining your attention. “(y/n). You can sit over here.”

You took one step towards him before Jongdae stopped you with a hand around your wrist. Too surprised to say anything, you let him pull you across the room. Jongdae took the seat beside Chanyeol instead leaving only the end open for you. Though he didn’t force you down next to him, he did keep a grip on you until you sat down, your knee resting against his. Even through the two layers of jeans, you could feel a heat where your bodies met. He released your wrist and leaned back, resting on his palms, one placed strategically behind your own back.

The dots were connecting in your brain at a slow pace, but you worked out that Jongdae’s behavior was possessive. All it did was confuse you more.

“So, (y/n).”Junmyeon pulled you out of your thoughts. “I think it’s best to introduce you to everyone. Although, you already know a few: Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, Sehun.” He pointed to one of the wolves that sat on the couch who was giving you a gummy-filled smile. “That’s Minseok. He’s actually our oldest pack member.”

You were finding that piece of information hard to believe, but shook it off, giving him a small wave instead.

“Next to him is his mate, Ji Yeon.”

Envy hit you like a freight train. A beautiful, black haired girl with lithe limbs gave you a warm smile. But her looks weren’t what was making you jealous. It was how comfortable she looked leaning her head against Minseok’s shoulder while he held her hand. The content and love between them was obvious. They were a couple that took the whole mate thing and didn’t just run with it, but embraced it with open arms. They were happy. It was a happiness that everyone strived for, fated or not.

Junmyeon went on with the introductions and you tried to keep up. Baekhyun, a puppy-like individual, was sitting on the floor. Hae In turned out to be his mate, who was sitting comfortably in his lap. Nosy boy was actually named Jongin and was much less cold towards you now. Although you weren’t sure if it was because he was no longer trying to convince you to get new friends or because of the curly-haired Kimberly who sat beside him. The last person for you to be introduced to was Yixing. He shyly gave you a dimpled smile as he was introduced. Ming, an equally shy girl, was his mate and they complimented each other perfectly.

“So, now that we have that out of the way,” Sehun butted in, “can we finally discuss this witch business?”

“I’m not sure there’s too much to discuss,” Junmyeon shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol whined, straightening up. “They tried to kill (y/n) so they could then kill us. We don’t even know why they suddenly hate us again.”

“My money’s on Eun Na,” Baekhyun quipped. “She’s definitely their leader. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some twisted reason for getting all of them on board with this.”

At the mention of your former best friend, you shrank back. Your mind was still fighting with itself, trying to figure out how the girl you used to laugh in face masks with was the same person who tied you to a stake to be burned. Unsure if it was involuntary or not, you still felt a little better when you saw Jongdae lean in a little closer to you in response to your discomfort of the change of conversation.

“(y/n).”

Your head snapped up at the mention of your name. Yixing was the one who’d spoken.

“Can you think of anything that Eun Na might have said in regards to not liking us?”

You shook your head. “No, I’m sorry. I can’t think of any time where she mentioned something along the lines of the supernatural or not liking certain people.”

Well, besides an ex-boyfriend.

“Too bad,” Baekhyun pouted, earning an elbow to the stomach from Hae In. “Ow.”

“It is unfortunate,” Junmyeon agreed. “For now, we lay low. (y/n) is staying with us for protection. She’ll only leave the house if at least one of us is with her. We’ll take shifts guarding the house while the rest of try to go about as normal, see if we can catch anything regarding the witches.” He turned his head to glance out the window. “Sun’s going down. Time for our run. Sehun and Kyungsoo will keep to the perimeter this time. Let’s go.”

Sehun didn’t look very enthused at not being able to run with the rest of the pack, but Kyungsoo gave you a reassuring smile. The atmosphere became a little uncomfortable when the mates were saying their goodbyes. Some kept it chaste with a kiss on the cheek or a quick one on the lips. Baekhyun tried to take things a little further, but Chanyeol slapped him upside the head. Jongdae, on the other hand, gave you no sort of goodbye as he jumped up and headed towards the kitchen. Minseok gave you a sympathetic look before he followed suit.

Then, it was only the girls. The awkward of that came with meeting new people always made you uncomfortable and the current circumstances made this time no easier. Kimberly was the first one to make a move, standing up and walking over before sitting back down next to you in Jongdae’s spot.

“You okay?” she inquired.

You nodded unconvincingly. Wrapping your arms around your knees, you stared down at the carpet.

Someone huffed. A pair of legs entered your vision before a sideways face appeared.

“Why don’t we get you some food?” Hae In suggested.

You weren’t really given a choice as she grabbed you hand and pulled you to your feet and the girls herded you into the kitchen.

Ming frowned. “I don’t really feel like cleaning up a big mess.”

Ji Yeon laughed as she opened the freezer. “Good thing we’re currently in a bachelor pad then, huh?” She pulled out a frozen pizza, earning a high-five from Kimberly before she turned the oven on to preheat.

Everyone settled in the breakfast booth, still eyeing you cautiously.

“So,” Hae In sighed. “He hasn’t been too much of a jerk to you, has he?”

You shrugged. Your first reaction was to not say anything since you didn’t really know these girls and – while he hasn’t exactly been a gentleman – you didn’t want to bad mouth Jongdae. At the same time, they’ve gone through a somewhat similar situation, if receiving a better outcome in a shorter amount of time.

“He’s just…,” you took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”

“He’s an asshole, that’s what he is,” Hae In huffed. You were thankful that she was brave enough to voice your own thoughts.

“Hae In,” Ming chastised before looking at Ji Yeon for help.

However, she had a similar view. “She’s kind of right. Minseok’s been keeping me updated and even he’s never seen Jongdae treat somebody this way.” Ji Yeon turned to you. “They’re the closest with each other. But lately he’s hardly opened up to Minseok. That’s not like him at all.”

“I don’t get why he’s fighting this,” Kimberly added. She reached across the table, placing one of her hands over yours. “You are gorgeous. He should count himself lucky.”

You gave her a half-hearted smile. “Thanks.”

“Sooner or later, the pull will be too much and he’ll give in.”

That wiped the smile clean off your face. “I don’t want him to just give in because he’s being force to by some natural instinct.” Sighing, you crossed your arms on the table in front of you, laying your head down for comfort. You sniffed, horrified that tears were actually starting to form.

A hand gently rubbed circles on your back. Ji Yeon leaned over to look at you while Kimberly jumped up to put the pizza in the oven after it’d let off a high pitched beep.

“You like him already, don’t you?” Ji Yeon guessed.

You nodded, not bothering to lie. “He was nice to me at the party. When I saw him again in class this semester, I was embarrassed and he seemed to hate me. But I couldn’t help watching him. He was just so… nice to everyone. Helpful. And he was always smiling. I wanted him to smile like that at me. I wanted to make him laugh. Happy. But I guess the only way to make him happy would be if I disappeared.”

“Don’t you dare say that, (y/n),” Ji Yeon snapped, making you jump back up.

“I am so going to kick his ass,” Kimberly grumbled. “He has absolutely no idea what he has in front of him.”

“Trust me, (y/n),” Ming spoke up. “You going away would only drive him insane. Being apart from their mate can cause them pain. He’ll realize what he needs in time. Especially with you in constant danger. It could be very romantic.”

A small laugh escaped. Oh, yes, you could picture Jongdae being your knight-in-shining-armor. Or your wolf in glossy fur.

Out of nowhere, an earsplitting howl pierced through the air making all of you jump.

“Jongin,” Kimberly whimpered.

You looked at her, feeling her concern, but still confused. “How do you know?”

“Mate thing,” Hae In explained. “Soon, you’ll be able to recognize Jongdae’s.”

“Was it a bad howl?” you asked cautiously.

“It definitely wasn’t good,” Ji Yeon answered. “That wasn’t the usual, happy-to-be-running howl. Not to mention, Jongin is typically the more laid back kind. He doesn’t like to raise an alarm unless the threat is real.”

With a sound like thunder rumbling through the house, the back door flew open, revealing four panicking and very naked boys trying to fit through the doorway at the same time.

“What is going on?” Ji Yeon demanded. Her authoritative voice made you flinch and you wondered how she wasn’t Junmyeon’s mate instead as she gave off an alpha-type aura.

“Jongin smelled the witches,” Minseok explained. “We had to make sure you were okay.”

Ji Yeon glanced down at you as you had hidden your face in your hands, the only safe haven from the nude bodies now standing in the kitchen. Your face was running hot and you didn’t need a mirror to know you were blushing violently.

“As you can see we’re perfectly fine,” Ji Yeon informed them, obviously holding back a laugh at your innocent state. “Now, either go put clothes on or go back out running, you’re giving the poor thing a heart attack.”

“Oh, sorry, (y/n),” you heard Yixing say.

“Let’s go back,” Jongin suggested. “We’ll keep close to the house, let Sehun run wild instead.”

At the sound of their retreating steps, you peaked out from behind your fingers. Standing there outside the door was Jongdae, who you hadn’t noticed earlier. He made brief eye contact with you before shaking his head and running after the others.

Hae In snorted. “This is going to be very interesting.”


	7. Enticing

Every morning you woke up to the smell of breakfast being prepared by Kyungsoo. Sometimes the smell was accompanied by a few of the boys knocking on your door as now they weren’t allowed to eat until you’d been served first. All of them had hefty appetites and on the first morning you hadn’t made it in time to get yourself a plate. You tried to convince Kyungsoo that it was fine and you could just make yourself some toast, but he was having none of it and made you your own separate breakfast that turned out to be more luxurious than the first round. The boys had never looked so much like kicked puppies.

Dragging yourself out of bed, you’d let Sehun or Chanyeol, who were usually the leaders, guide you down to the kitchen. At first it was embarrassing, your hair still messy and wild from tossing and turning in a strange bed. You weren’t even allowed to change. Junmyeon nearly had a heart attack when you came down in your oversized band t-shirt that covered your sleeping shorts, making it look like you didn’t have anything on underneath. You’d taken it upon yourself to slightly tuck in the front as you headed down the stairs to show that you were indeed wearing pants, for his sake.

Jongdae being present for breakfast was always a gamble. If he hadn’t ran out the door before the sun had risen, he sat with you at the counter. In the beginning, he wouldn’t speak to you, rarely even looking at you. It was an awkward situation with Jongdae feeling like a wall separating you from the other inhabitants. The chatter and laughter coming from the booth and dining table made you wish that you were sitting over there instead, but you knew that would lead to an ugly argument between the boys. 

However, after about a week or so, Jongdae started putting in an effort. He’d ask you if you’d slept well and if you were able to keep on top of your classes. The first few times shocked you, but over time you came to expect it as well as look forward to it.

“Did you understand yesterday’s lesson?” he asked right as you had taken a large bite of egg.

Swallowing, you slowly shook your head. “No.”

Jongdae smirked, but it quickly faded back to his neutral expression. “Thought so. I’ll be back early tonight, so I’ll help you with it.”

Did he just….

“Thanks,” you whispered in shock.

He gave you a nod before standing up. “See you tonight.”

Dropping off his plate in the sink, he scooped up his bag and went out the door. Several jaws were hanging open at the booth.

“I didn’t just hallucinate, did I?” Baekhyun asked.

Minseok shook his head. “Nope. I think it’s safe to say we’ve got progress.”

Cheeks burning, you tried block out their comments. Where they saw progress, you still saw a large wall that was as strong as the day you met him. Progress would be when he smiled at you, laughed with you. When he treated you like how Minseok treated Ji Yeon or how Yixing was soft with Ming or how playful Baekhyun and Hae In were. That’s what you wanted. Not a science tutor.

Pursing your lips, you hopped down from the counter, not saying anything to the boys as you washed both your dish and Jongdae’s before disappearing back upstairs. You put on a pair of jeans and a hoodie, getting dressed for the day. After brushing your teeth and making your hair a little more presentable, you grabbed your backpack and headed back downstairs.

It was too windy outside to sit on the porch, so you opted for the currently deserted booth instead, with most of the boys having headed out to class by now. At least two of them were staying behind though, running the perimeter in wolf form and making sure that no witches were trying to sneak onto the property. You weren’t sure who the watch dogs were for today, but you were grateful.

Setting up shop, you turned on your laptop and opened up your Ancient Chinese Dynasties textbook to get started on your latest lesson.

Junmyeon had worked his magic, making up some story about how you were having to spend most of your time taking care of a great aunt whose health was failing and only had you in the area to take care of her, so your professors were emailing you notes and slideshows of the lessons along with any quizzes or tests you might have missed. You followed everything according to the syllabus, checking off the assignments as you completed them.

While you tried to keep your focus on the text in front of you, your mind decided to follow the Jongdae path instead. Even though his gesture this morning could be considered nice, it still felt… forced. Over the past few weeks, Jongdae had continued to be hot and cold with you. Any small action made towards you was made reluctantly, hesitantly, you could feel it. Part of you wondered if Junmyeon made him interact with you now. You certainly wouldn’t have put it past him.

You were so focused on your homework that you hadn’t realized the time passing by. Junmyeon came home around two.

“Working hard?” he laughed as he slid into the seat across from you.

Stretching, you nodded. “I think it’s time for a break. My brain’s fried for the day.”

Junmyeon laughed again. “I don’t miss those days.”

You narrowed your eyes at him as you stood up. “Especially since they weren’t that long ago. Overachiever.”

He opened his mouth to retort when the smart watch on his wrist went off. When he read the alert, he frowned. “Stay in the house until Jongdae gets home. I have to go.”

“But–”

He was gone before you could ask for details. Pouting because you were alone again, you shuffled over to the fridge to find something to eat. Leftovers didn’t exist in this house so you had no choice but to make something.

With a sandwich and chips on a plate, you exited the kitchen in favor of the living room. The boys tended to get yelled at if they ate in there but you figured as the only female inhabitant, you could get away with it. Besides, you weren’t as messy as they were. 

While they often spent the night to the point where they might as well have lived in the farm house, the other mates still preferred to keep their own living quarters, for reasons which you didn’t know since they just laughed about it whenever you asked and said that maybe someday you’d find out. Maybe you didn’t really want to know.

Jongdae came home after a few more hours of drama-watching. At first he didn’t say anything to you, not even a general greeting or grunt, heading straight up to his room. Just when you thought he’d forgotten about his promise to help you, he came back down, textbook and notebook in hand.

“Do you want to start now or do you want to finish the episode?”

He was giving you a choice. A chance to opt out. Sighing, you turned off the TV. “I’ll just want to watch the next one. Let’s get this torture over with.”

The two of you went back to the breakfast booth. You had to turn your laptop back on while Jongdae flipped open his textbook and laid out his notes. Including the added benefit of the lesson’s slideshow, you found it a bit easier to understand this time around, having been completely lost the day before when you tried to tackle it on your own. Your tutor was surprisingly patient with you even as you stopped every five seconds to ask a question. Where science was certainly not your strong suit, Jongdae seemed to understand it well enough to explain it to you.

“You’re smarter than you think you are,” he suddenly commented when you were done with the lesson.

Clearing your throat, you started packing up your things, trying to remain somewhat calm. “Oh… um…okay.”

You weren’t sure what to say. Thanks? The comment came from nowhere and seemed genuine and that threw you off guard.

A rumbling vibrated through the house followed by a pack of wolves. Sometimes you missed the time in your life when that was only an expression. The peanut gallery was whispering among themselves as they came deeper into the kitchen, joining the two of you. Chanyeol started to sit down next to you until Jongdae threw him a glare. The giant opted instead to remain standing next to the table as it was deemed the safer option even though there was plenty of room for several of them to take a seat.

You were on the verge of completely losing it. What gave him the right to be so damn possessive all the time? You couldn’t even have an in-depth conversation or laugh at something one of the other boys said without a certain wolf getting set off. Was it too much to ask for him to pick a side of the fence? Either he wanted to be with you or he didn’t. You were losing your mind going around in circles like this!

Letting out a hefty sigh, you grabbed your backpack and stood up.

“I’ll have dinner ready soon,” Kyungsoo mentioned as he started unloading the fridge. The hopefulness in his voice nearly broke your resolve.

You shook your head. “I’m not hungry. I think I’ll just bunker down in my room for the evening.”

Sneaking a peak at Jongdae, you secretly hoped that he would say something, try to convince you stay and eat with them. But no. He leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. You gave up, practically running up the stairs to get away.

**

If having to be in the same living quarters as Jongdae was bad, then this was much, much worse. You thought you’d be used to it by now, an hour or so of silence, only the radio breaking it up as Jongdae drove you to your job. Honestly, you had half a mind to quit in order to avoid these rides. He never let anyone else take you. You’d talked to your boss and now only worked two or three times a week rather than the five to six you’d done in the past. That only added up to being between four to six hours alone in a car with Jongdae, but even that was too much and taking its toll on you. To take some of the anxiety out of it, you tried to imagine him as your bodyguard, a secret agent that was sworn to protect you, but that just made you depressed. Babysitter was the more correct term, but much less romantic.

Your shifts were simultaneously easy and hard. Jongdae would take his usual spot in the far corner, textbooks cracked open along with his notebook and a fresh cup of coffee to make his long stay unquestionable. He always got your favorite, the one you had made for him the day of the bonfire. When you’d asked Minseok about Jongdae’s taste in coffee, he seemed confused. Jongdae apparently didn’t care for the drink too much. And yet, every shift, he had at least three, always the same, always your concoction.

Today, you decided that you would ignore Jongdae, act like he wasn’t there, like how he treated you most of the time. If you stayed at the counter, he was barely inside your peripheral, nearly invisible. When it was busy, it was easy to forget that he was even there, keeping your concentration on the customers in front of you and their ridiculously complex orders. However, when lulls in people to serve hit, your eyes would wander to the wolf in the corner. He was never looking at you when you snuck a peek, but you knew at least part of his attention was on you, making sure you weren’t suddenly kidnapped in the middle of a camera-filled café.

After five hours of being on your feet, the end was near and you couldn’t wait to get back to the house. You were hungry for some of the leftovers you’d been able to save thanks to Kyungsoo that was decorated with a semi-threatening note stuck to the top. It’d been a battle to store that food for yourself and you wanted to revel in your victory.

“Hey, (y/n)?”

Mia, a fellow college student and coworker that you got along with, stepped up to you, a stuffed black trash bag in each hand.

“Yeah?” you replied, suppressing the groan you wanted to let out so badly. She was one of your favorite coworkers, always willing to share the load. That’s how you knew whatever she was about to ask, you would have to go along with.

“I know you’re about to clock out, but can you take these out back real quick?” she asked. “Young Ji took her break late and I can’t leave the counter unmanned.”

You sighed. She was right. And it wasn’t too difficult a task. Nodding, you took the bags to from her, looking over at Jongdae. He was still immersed in his homework, but you figured he’d heard the conversation, knowing you’d be running out to alley and then be right back. Shrugging, you pushed the back door open with your shoulder, dragging the obnoxiously heavy bags of soaked coffee grains and paper cups out to the dumpster that was right next to the exit.

It took a few tries, but you were able to get the trash into the dumpster without spilling anything on you. After wiping your hands on your apron, you turned to head back inside and gasped.

Eun Na was leaning against the opposite wall of the door, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

“Well, there you are, (y/n),” she teased in a sing-song way. “Long time, no see.”

“Stay away from me, Eun Na.” You tried to seem like anything resembling fierce, but that was quickly erased when you took a step back, running into the grime-covered brick behind you.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she pouted. This was not the Eun Na you used to call your friend. Her mannerisms were predatory, but not like the boys. Hers was feline-like, slinky and coy. Quiet, unassuming until she was ready to strike. The air around her was cocky and smug. You knew the best plan of action was to run back inside to Jongdae but for some stupid reason you stayed put.

She threw her hands up like a faux surrender. “Look. I’m sorry about the bonfire. I got a little ahead of myself. It won’t happen again. I promise. But,” the smirk was gone, replaced with a pleading look that you didn’t buy, “we need your help, (y/n).”

You were unconvinced. In fact, you were a little insulted. “A little ahead of yourself? Are you serious? You’d been planning to kill me for months! If you think I would even help you with your history paper, you’re insane!”

“(y/n),” she whined, trying to bring back the guilt trip she had used on you all the time. “You don’t understand. They aren’t pets that wag their tails and lick your face. They’re dangerous and shouldn’t even exist. We’re just trying to right the wrongs of our ancestors. Bring balance back to nature. Don’t you want to help right the world?”

“They’ve done nothing to me to make me feel like I’m in danger.”

Eun Na sighed. Her eyes drifted to your neck that was left open for the world to see with your hair pulled out of the way. Suddenly, you felt very exposed and vulnerable, but you couldn’t understand why.

A very dangerous gleam shined in her eyes. “I see you’re still unmarked. Unclaimed. Are you sure you want to stay with them? You still have a choice, (y/n). Just come with me. I can even take away the connection between you and Jongdae. Make it so you don’t feel pain when you’re near him but unable to touch him. You can’t tell me that you actually want to be mated to a wolf? You always preferred to make your own choices, (y/n). I can give that back to you. While there’s still time. He doesn’t want you anyway. Why torture yourself like this?”

This whole conversation you’d been sure on where you stood. Eun Na had tried to kill you and so she was the one you needed to stay away from. Then she threw that wrench into the mix. Your mind actually started to wander off from that safe path. 

She was right. Jongdae didn’t want you. He’d made that abundantly clear. Could she really severe the connection between the two of you? You weren’t too trusting at the moment. You knew that you needed to stay alert and not let your guard down around her anymore, but her offer was enough to make you hesitate, if only for a second.

Eun Na reached out her hand to you, taking a few steps in your direction. You didn’t flinch, keeping your eyes on her hand. Your heart was yelling at you, screaming not to take it, but your brain, the part that remembered Jongdae sitting on that coffee table declaring he never wanted to be tied to you, was considering the option.

The back door to the coffee shop flew open and Jongdae jumped in between you and your former best friend. His back was pressed up against you, each of his arms caging you to the wall and trapping you in as he bent forward in a protective stance. A low, continuous growl vibrated in his chest, sending shivers down through your own body. You couldn’t see his face, but you were sure his teeth were bared at the witch.

“Get away from her,” he hissed.

Eun Na scoffed. “So protective. Finally giving in?”

“Get out of here before I rip your throat out,” he warned.

“Oh, I’m so scared,” she laughed. “You wouldn’t want to go and break the treaty, now would you?”

“You broke it first!” Jongdae snapped.

Eun Na raised an eyebrow. “Did I?”

“You attacked a mate.”

The ends of her lips curled up mockingly. “I believe the stipulation of ‘claimed’ is in the treaty. Something you have continuously failed to do. Until then, she’s not really yours, is she?” She looked over his shoulder at you. “My offer still stands, (y/n). If you change your mind.”

A cloud of purple smoke grew at Eun Na’s feet, circling around her until her whole body was consumed. When it dissipated, she was gone as well.

Jongdae grabbed your wrist, pulling you back into the shop. “Come on.”


	8. Breakdown

Though the car ride had been quiet and tension-filled, as soon as you were back inside the house, Jongdae started yelling.

“What the hell do you think you were doing?!”

You flinched, unable to meet his eye.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, frozen in your spot. Your apology did nothing.

“The second you saw her, you should’ve have ran right back inside to me!” he shouted, fists balled up at his sides. “We have told you time and time again how dangerous Eun Na is! She tried to kill you, (y/n)! You can’t let her get close like that again!”

Your voice was starting to regain its strength but it still was nowhere near Jongdae’s. “I got scared so I froze. I couldn’t think straight.”

It was partially the truth. You certainly weren’t able to think anything that was remotely coherent back in that alley, but it wasn’t only the fear that paralyzed you.

The yelling had drawn a crowd. Slowly, the boys who were home snuck into the living room behind Jongdae. Looks of concern and confusion decorated their faces, but no one was brave enough to step into an argument between a wolf and his mate. Junmyeon was back at the university teaching a class or else he would have come to your rescue.

“And what deal was she talking about?” Jongdae demanded.

Your head snapped up. You didn’t want to tell him. Now that you were able to think it through, you weren’t even sure if it was possible. But telling Jongdae didn’t seem like a wise choice at the moment. What if he wanted it too? What if he wanted to know if it was possible to break the bond? That just might kill you.

“It- it doesn’t matter. It was nothing.”

“It doesn’t matter?” he yelled, his face turning red. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and there was a vein visible on his neck. “Are you serious, (y/n)? What the hell!”

Unable to take any more, you shoved passed him, tears starting to form in your eyes. “Just leave me alone!”

No one stopped you as you ran up the stairs. Your room was now a safe haven you desperately needed. A bit dramatic like a Disney protagonist, you threw yourself onto your bed and cried into your pillow, hugging it close to your chest, the only source of comfort in this damn house.

You didn’t believe for a second that any of the boys would ever deliberately hurt you. But you couldn’t help but dwell over Eun Na’s offer. You couldn’t trust her, not for anything, but there were other witches in the world, right? Maybe you could find someone else, in a different city that had no connections here and maybe they could severe the mate bond for you. Living like this was becoming nearly impossible. You felt like you were being ripped in two and you just wanted it to stop.

About an hour later, when your eyes were dry but red, your stomach reminded you that you were hungry. As sneakily as you could, you made your way down to the kitchen, running into no other inhabitant. Opening the refrigerator door, you bit back a yell. Your food was gone, sticky note ignored. As if this day couldn’t get any worse. You wanted to cry again. Over food. You were losing your mind.

You started digging around the drawers trying to find something to munch on, not wanting to create a mess you would have to clean up later. 

In the bottom drawer were two containers stacked on top of each other. A note on the top was from Kyungsoo. It stated this food was for you and that Chanyeol had eaten your other leftovers. A smile crept up. You could always count on Kyungsoo.

Warming up the food in the microwave, you got out a plate and silverware. The house was quiet beyond the hum of the microwave and you appreciated the space you were given. When the food was hot once again, you sat down at the counter, eating slowly.

Finished, you took the plates over to the sink. A window perched above the faucet gave a beautiful view of the side of the house. The sun was going down and clouds were rolling in, dark and heavy, creating a shadow over the fields. The news app on your phone had said something about storms when you checked it this morning, but you thought that wasn’t supposed to happen for a few more hours.

Absentmindedly rinsing off the plate, you stared out into the field. A white four-door pulled up on the grass. You opened your mouth to call for one of the boys, but it was pointless. Ming jumped out of the driver’s side as Yixing ran up to greet her. While in front of others they were a bit more reserved, at the moment they looked like they didn’t have a care in the world.

Ming jumped up in Yixing’s arms, her legs wrapping around his torso as he kissed her full on the lips. It was an intimate moment and you knew that you should look away, but you couldn’t. Because what you were witnessing was exactly what you wanted. Their need and desperation for each other was evident even though it’d only been a day or so since Ming had been over. It was how mates were supposed to be.

“(y/n)?”

Water splashed as you jumped in surprise. Junmyeon was standing next to you although you hadn’t heard anyone else even enter the kitchen.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

You nodded, not entirely trusting your voice.

He frowned. “Jongdae told me about the incident at the shop. He also mentioned something about a deal?” He crossed his arms, going full professor mode on you. “(y/n), what did Eun Na tell you?”

You took several deep breaths before you could answer. You feared his reaction. Although Junmyeon had never once raised his voice to you, this might be the first. This felt like a taboo topic.

Instead of answering his question directly, you took a different approach, asking, “Is it really possible to take away the mate connection?”

Junmyeon straightened, taken back by your sudden question.

“I’ve heard of one incident where the mate wanted out. It was an extreme situation and the only time I’ve ever heard of it being done. It broke me just hearing about it. Why-” He blinked, making the connection. His eyes widen. “(y/n), you can’t be serious. You don’t want that. The separation, it’s more painful than anything you’ve ever felt before. After it’s done, you will feel an emptiness that can never be filled, walking around like something is missing for the rest of your life. You can’t even considered that as an option.”

“You don’t understand,” you replied softly, keeping your eyes down on the sink. “Everyone keeps saying to give him time, but it’s been over a month since I came here. He’s known for even longer. If he couldn’t make his mind up by now then obviously he doesn’t want this either. I think it’s best if we go our separate ways.” You looked up at your professor, feeling a lump grow in your throat. “I’ll transfer to another college in another part of the country so no one will ever have to see me again. I can’t keep living like this.”

Your voice caught on the last word as a single tear fell down your cheek. Junmyeon reached out to wipe it away. As soon as his finger met your cheek, a roar ripped through the air. Jongdae stomped towards the two of you and shoved his alpha’s hand away.

“I asked you to stop touching her,” he growled. Then he turned to you, his voice still as hostile. “Why are you crying?”

You broke. Like a flash of lightning, you switched from feeling sorry for yourself to pure rage for the man in front of you.

“You!” you screamed. “You are the reason I’m crying! You can’t have it both ways, Jongdae! You can’t say you don’t want me and that you’re only protecting me because some stupid witch coven wants to kill me and then be jealous and possessive every time one of your brothers comes near me or says something to me!”

Your outburst made the wolf take a step back. His mouth hung open in shock. You, however, kept going.

“I can’t keep my own thoughts straight when you’re being nice to me one second and then acting like I’m some sort of parasite the next! I can’t take this anymore! I just want to be able to let go of you! I hate being in love with you when you can’t stand to look in my direction! When you won’t ever love me back!”

Jongdae’s eyes widened at your confession. You hadn’t meant to tell him. You had meant to go to your grave with that secret, never wanting him to know exactly how you felt. How you couldn’t stop yourself from feeling. Because you did. You did love him, as much as you hated yourself for it.

No one was able to say a word. Horrified at what you had done, you took off, running out the back door and straight for the woods. You didn’t have an actual location in mind, just “away”. Away from Jongdae, away from the scene you had caused, and away from the world for a while.

Neither of the wolves came after you. Someone – perhaps Ming or Yixing – was calling after you, but you ignored them. Once you were deep within the trees, you slowed down into a walk. Your feet kept going, not caring where you were headed. The run had drained you and now you just felt exhausted, making it difficult to concentrate on much of anything. That was good. That was what you needed. You continued walking, glancing at the trees and fallen leaves that littered the mossy floor. You’d never been in a forest like this before. It was peaceful. Definitely what you needed. 

A rumble shook the ground and you looked up. The clouds had completely covered up the sky, blocking out a majority of the light from the forest floor, only a blanket of dark gray visible above you between the trees.

As much as you didn’t want to, you had to head back. In your haste, you had forgotten about the oncoming rain. Even though you loved that type of weather, you preferred to be near shelter when it came. You turned around, worried about what waited for you at the house but not really having any other choice.

Like a horror movie, a twig snapped somewhere behind you. Then you remembered how the wolves had smelled the witches in the woods on their runs at times. Not to mention what other wild animals called this place their home.

“Shit.”

You ran. Your energy levels were spent, but you pushed yourself as far as you could. Looking back behind you to see if anything was following you, your foot caught on a root sticking up above ground and hidden by dead leaves. The sudden obstacle knocked you off your feet and you failed at regaining your balance. A deep trench lied a foot away. The momentum of the fall sent you rolling down the hill, a scream escaping your lips as you failed to bring yourself to a stop. Before you reached the bottom, your head hit a boulder, taking your consciousness with it.

**

“You should be going after her,” Junmyeon said once again.

“Stop it,” Jongdae snapped. His temper was one more comment away from exploding.

As soon as you had fled out of the kitchen, he’d collapsed back onto the ground, unable to believe what he’d just heard. Even after the way he’d treated you, you still fell in love with him. And he couldn’t even express how he felt as well. This whole situation was messed up. He was messed up. He didn’t deserve you and he had finally succeeded in driving you away. But now all he wanted was you.

His wolf whined, begging to run after you, but he knew you ran because you needed space. He was the last person you wanted to see right now, so he fought against the wolf, like he’d been fighting over the last several months.

Yixing and Ming rushed into the kitchen.

“Why did (y/n) run into the woods?” Ming asked worriedly.

Junmyeon glanced down at Jongdae.

Yixing frowned, shoulders slumping from the repeating incident. “Did you guys fight again?”

“It’s complicated,” Jongdae mumbled.

“You need to un-complicate it,” Junmyeon ordered. “She was asking me about severing the mate bond just to get away from all this.”

Jongdae jumped up to his feet, grabbing his alpha by the arms. “What?!”

That was too much. Too far. He’d heard the story of the mates who’d severed their bond. It wasn’t worth living after that.

Junmyeon gave him a look of disbelief. “Did you not realize that while you were taking your sweet time trying to become okay with being mated, she was suffering? Having to see the others be so happy with their mates and not be able to experience the same thing? You forget that while our side of the bond is instinctual that develops into feelings, theirs is pure emotion.”

Jongdae shook his head, releasing Junmyeon. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been. How selfish he’d been. “I didn’t-”

Your scream pierced through the air, stopping him mid-sentence.

“(y/n)!” Without hesitation, Jongdae ran out of the house towards the woods. He didn’t wait to see if the others were following him, phasing into his wolf form midstride. He caught your scent instantly, following it at full speed until he came to the deep trench.

There you were laying in the pile of rotting leaves and broken sticks that had collected at the bottom. It was raining now, drenching your clothes. He jumped down to where you were, scared of how hurt you might be. Sniffing your hair, he caught the blood from the wound on your forehead, but you didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere else.

You groaned, your eyes flickering open. “Jongdae?”

He barked in response, laying down next you and motioning with his head for you to climb on his back. You nodded, understanding. It took all the strength you had to get to your knees. Jongdae nudged you with his snout, helping in any way he could to get you on his back. Once you were straddling him, too weak to even sit up straight, he stood back up on his paws. After a few steps, you slid off his back, unable to even keep a grip on his fur.

For a moment Jongdae considered phasing back to his human form, but he was too emotional, seeing you like this, to concentrate and you were so innocent, he didn’t want you to fully wake up to being cared by a naked man. He sent a howl into the air, signaling to the others where he was and that he needed help. Curling up next you to keep you warm and blocking out the rain, he waited for the others to arrive.

Junmyeon appeared at the top of the trench, still human. Yixing and Chanyeol were with him but as wolves, sniffing the ground and assessing the situation. Careful with his steps, Junmyeon came down the steep hill. He had a change of clothes in his hand. Once down there, he held the jeans out to Jongdae. Understanding, Jongdae calmed himself down enough to change back into a human and slide the jeans on.

“I think she fell and hit her head,” Jongdae guessed as he picked you up.

You groaned, clinging to him and pressing your face into his bare chest.

Junmyeon nodded. “Yixing’ll check her out once we get back.”

With you safe in his arms, Jongdae felt more relaxed as he ran back to the house. After an examination, he was relieved to find out that you only had the one minor abrasion. Declared fine, Jongdae took you up to his room and lied you down on the bed, refusing to move from your side. Once you were awake, the two of you would have a lot to talk about.


	9. Uncovered Truths

Your head hurt when you woke up again. The last thing you remembered clearly was hitting your head on a particularly sharp rock. Fuzzier images were surfacing: Jongdae in wolf form coming to your rescue. Him showing actual concern for your safety. 

What a cruel thing for your brain to conjure up.

Groaning, you pushed yourself up to get back to the house. But your hands didn’t make contact with leaves and twigs. Fully opening your eyes, you realized you were already back. Someone had changed you out of your rain-soaked clothes and into a large t-shirt and a pair of your comfortable shorts. From the design and cut of the shirt, it certainly wasn’t one of yours.

“No, don’t get up yet.” A strong hand pushed you back down onto the mattress. Jongdae’s face appeared in front of you, a small smile on his lips.

“You found me?” You blinked. Were those images real?

He nodded. “You scared me. I thought something really bad had happened to you.”

With a hesitant hand, he reached out to you, pushing strands of hair out of your face. The action confused you. Where was this coming from? 

You tried to sit up again and this time Jongdae helped you with a sigh, shifting you so you could lean back against the headboard. He got up on the bed next you, leaving no space in between. Still not processing what was going on, you stared at Jongdae, unable to think of any words to communicate your current state of mind.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispered. Without warning, he intertwined his fingers with yours, rubbing his thumb across your knuckles. It set your skin on fire. Your heart was racing from the contact, unable to believe that this was actually happening. Was this some sort of delusional dream you were having? 

You couldn’t bring yourself to remove your hand from his, but you did turn to face him, furrowing your eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

Jongdae sighed. With his free hand he cupped your jaw, bringing your forehead to his with a slight tock.

“(y/n), I’m so sorry. I was so wrapped up in fighting this I didn’t stop to think about you. I knew it was useless, fighting the bond, but I’m too stubborn for my own good.” Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before look at you again. “When Junmyeon told me you were asking about breaking the bond, I panicked. Then you screamed. I didn’t think, just ran. I couldn’t lose you. Never to see you smile again or hear your laugh. I couldn’t let that happen. I realized that I had the best thing in front of me and I was so close to losing it.”

His words shocked you. Only in your daydreams did he ever say anything along those lines. Did he really mean it?

“Jongdae, I-”

“Shhh, let me finish.” He caressed your cheek. “Please stay. Please, give me another chance. You said that I wouldn’t ever love you back, but that’s not true. I’ve already fallen in love with you, (y/n). I’ve been in love with you.”

“Why?” you asked suddenly.

Jongdae looked taken back, surprised by your still lingering hostility. “Why what?”

Pulling your hand from his grip, you stood up, getting off on the other side of the bed so it was between the two of you. “Why the sudden change heart?”

Jongdae crawled closer to you, but you took a step back. That action made his face fall.

“It’s not a sudden change of heart. I’ve been falling in love with since the day you moved in here.”

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it,” you snapped. “You know how confused I’ve been the last month? Watching where I stepped, trying to make sure that I didn’t upset you and then getting confused when you did nice things for me or talked to me without being mean? This entire time I’ve been convinced that you hate me.”

Sitting on the side of the bed, Jongdae dropped his head in his hands. “(y/n). I’m so sorry. I-I don’t hate you. I really am in love with you. I just… I was scared.”

You pulled your eyebrows together, confused. “Scared? How am I scary?”

Jongdae stood up and when he walked towards you, you didn’t move away. He gently grabbed your upper arms, looking at you. His brown eyes were glassy, a small pool of water gathering on the bottom lid.

“I told you about being dropped off when I was two?” You nodded. With a heavy sigh, he continued, “Being abandoned like that, it’s stayed with me. I’m scared of being left again. It took me a long time to trust the guys. And a pack stays together, no matter what. So, when you came along, I thought you would take one look at me and walk away, wanting nothing to do with me.” His hand slid down until it was gripping yours. “I know it was stupid, but I couldn’t help it. And the more I fell for you, the more scared I became. But when you said that you had fallen for me, too… I realized that I was wrong and I never should have tried to push you away in the first place.”

Your own eyes were starting to tear up. You hated the fact that you couldn’t exactly argue with that. It still wasn’t right for him to do what he did, but you understood.

“Please, (y/n), can you forgive me?”

Your brain was having a difficult time piecing together the fact that any of this was happening at all. Stunned into silence, all you could do was nod your head.

Releasing your hand, he cupped your face with both of his palms.

“I can’t wait to stare at those eyes for the rest of my life,” he whispered, a smile growing on his lips.

You rolled said eyes, scoffing at his sentimentalism.

Slowly, he leaned in forward, his breath warm against your face. With the minutest space between your lips and his, you wrestled with yourself on wanting to close that gap. Jongdae was being affectionate with you now, but you didn’t want to push him, even though you wanted more. You were right, the feeling of fire was getting addicting. Turns out, you didn’t have to hold yourself back as Jongdae took that last step.

The moment his lips touched yours, you were a goner. One hand was in your hair while he free arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to his chest until there was no room to even fill up your lungs with air. He backed up until he hit the bed. He sat down and lifted you so your legs were now strewn over his lap.

Kissing Jongdae was something that you had always pushed out of your mind whenever the daydreams curved that direction. It didn’t matter much since your wildest imagination could never have met this. His lips were soft against yours, cradling your bottom lip between his own. The tip of his tongue tickled the sensitive skin of your lip before it could enter your mouth, access you weren’t quite granting yet.

Releasing his vise around your torso, Jongdae slid his hand down your waist before coming to a stop on your thigh. His grip was hot against your skin. Sliding his fingers up and under your shorts, he repositioned you so you were now straddling his lap as a possessive growl ripped from his chest. The unexpected sound made you gasp, simultaneously giving you the breath of air you were desperately needing and allowing Jongdae’s tongue to gain access to the place it had been battling to enter.

Your bodies were pressed so close together and Jongdae ran much hotter than the average male, you were sure you would start sweating through your T-shirt. The slightly unromantic thought made a giggle tickle your throat that you couldn’t hold back. At your outburst, Jongdae stopped and pulled away. Frowning, he tilted his head to the side.

“What’s so funny?”

Now you were embarrassed. Heat rose in your face and you avoided his gaze.

Jongdae scoffed playfully. “(y/n)…,” he pushed a lock of hair back out of your face. “I’m not a mind reader.”

Scratching behind your ear, you mumbled, “You’re just really hot.”

Most certainly hearing you, a cheeky grin spread across his face. Without warning, he flipped you over so you were now lying on your back with Jongdae hovering above you, a hand placed on either side of your head.

“Thank you,” he smirked. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

You slapped his chest. “I meant temperature wise. You’re practically a living heater. I thought I was going to break out into a sweat.”

Bending his head down, he nuzzled his nose into your neck. A satisfying rumble vibrated his chest against your shoulder. “I know another way to get us sweating.”

In a panic, you pushed him off of you and sitting up right.

Clearing your throat, you stuttered, “W-why don’t we take things slow?”

Sighing, Jongdae pulled you into his lap, resting his head in the crook of your neck. “That’s going to be extremely difficult, you know.”

You frowned. “You’ve done pretty well the past month or so.”

Jongdae growled, tightening his arms around your waist. He raised his head to look at you. “Are you going to hang that over me for the rest of our lives?”

Irritated, you shoved yourself off his legs and headed for the door. Before you even made it halfway, the wolf was blocking your path.

“What did I do?” he whined.

You stared at him, unable to believe that he honestly didn’t seem to understand why you would be upset.

“Seriously, Jongdae?” You crossed your arms over your chest. “I’m happy – I really am, that we can finally give this a shot, and I do forgive you, but… this last month – heck, the last several months – still really hurt. I’ve felt so unwanted and you hadn’t even given me a chance. I’ve been hurting every day and the memories of that hurt aren’t going to wash away to create a perfectly clean slate. I’m going to need time. Not space – because I don’t want you to go away. Just some time.”

Jongdae nodded, the look on his face so full of shame. He knew what he had done and he understood that you couldn’t just forget it. Taking a step forward, you reached out to him, laying your palm against his cheek.

“But,” you gave him a small smile, “I think I’m the happiest I’ve been in a very long time.”

The shameful look melted away from his face and your favorite blinding smile made an appearance. He wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you in close to him. His nose rested against the space where your jaw met your ear. That seemed to be his favorite place.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised. “I will spend the rest of forever making it up to you. I’ll scrub that slate so clean, you’ll be able to see your face in it.”

You couldn’t help but giggle, standing there in his arms. A small, pessimistic part of you panicked, wondering when he would switch up on you again and decide that in fact he wasn’t in love with you and he still didn’t actually want you. With great effort, you pushed the thoughts away, deciding that if that was to happen, then you would deal with it then.

“Jongdae, is she awa– oops, sorry!”

Ji Yeon’s head disappeared from the doorway so quickly you almost didn’t realize it was her. You hadn’t heard the door open and were embarrassed to be caught. Granted, the two of you were only embracing, but it still felt so intimate.

Jongdae chuckled as he lift his head, still keeping a grip on your waist. “That’s probably going to happen a lot around here.”

“Is that why the other mates live by themselves?” you murmured to yourself.

For some reason that caused Jongdae to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” you asked innocently.

“Nothing.” He kissed your lips, probably to distract you from the joke you’d missed.

Then it hit you. You almost slapped yourself with how naive you’d been. Now you got the joke, but you’d keep the revelation to yourself. You were too embarrassed to say anything to Jongdae. Maybe later you could talk to the girls about it. You weren’t completely inexperienced, but you were still shy and it’d been… a while.

“Come on,” Jongdae grabbed your hand and tugged you out of the room. “I can hear your stomach growling and I’ll be damned if I let my mate starve.”

Your cheeks heated up at the sound of him calling you his mate. They were probably still red as you entered the kitchen behind Jongdae, still clinging to him.

All the other wolves as well as their mates were gathered around the rarely used dinner table. Junmyeon shot you a smile when he noticed the two of you holding hands. But it disappeared quickly as you joined the group.

“This isn’t good, Junmyeon,” Minseok groaned. “They really want us dead now.”

“What’s going on?” Jongdae asked.

Picking up an envelope made of old, yellow parchment, Junmyeon sighed. “This was left on the porch sometime while we were sleeping last night. It’s addressed to (y/n).”

You shrank into Jongdae’s side as he squeezed your hand. “W-what is it?”

Ji Yeon was the one who answered you in a hushed tone that was truly frightening. “It’s a witch’s curse.”


	10. Witch's Curse

It was just a little old fashioned envelope, but it was putting everyone on edge. All the werewolves leaned away from it, even Junmyeon, who was still holding it between his fingers like it was a diseased scrap or something even more foul.

“How do you know it’s a curse?” you asked. “Have you opened it?” You started to reach out for it, but Jongdae grabbed your hand and yanked it back.

Ming shook her head frantically. “No, we can’t open it. We don’t know exactly what this curse entails. That could be exactly what enacts it.” She pointed to a small picture on the envelope. “There’s a perfect clover in the corner, the sign of the coven here.”

“What the hell did we do to make them hate us so much?” Baekhyun yelled. His fist slamming down on the table made you flinch.

Jongdae released your hand and wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you in closer to him. “Don’t worry,” he whispered to you. “We’ll figure this out.”

You nodded, more to make yourself seem okay than to actually reassure him that you were fine. 

Eun Na had cursed you. How and why, you couldn’t fathom, but you knew it wasn’t anything you could fight easily. The fact that even the mates looked worried told you that.

Junmyeon sighed. “(y/n), I think it’s best if you call in sick to work for a while.”

You nodded. It was better to quit, anyway. Who knew when you would be going back? Work was the last place you saw Eun Na. You couldn’t go back there and risk a second runin.

“At least there’s some good news,” Chanyeol chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “Jongdae finally go that stick out of his ass.”

Jongdae scowled at him, but you couldn’t help but giggle, earning a frown from your mate. Shrugging, you sent him your most innocent look. It worked, stretching his lips into a grin. Apparently, he couldn’t resist it. You pocketed that information for later.

Kyungsoo stood up and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a plate wrapped in tin foil. “I managed to save you some food from dinner.”

“Trust me,” Kimberly grumbled, elbowing Jongin in the stomach. “That was a struggle.”

Letting you go, Jongdae took the plate from Kyungsoo, removed the foil, and heated it up in the microwave for you before placing it down at the table with a fork and glass of water.

Your lips involuntarily puckered into a pout. “I could have done that.”

“You’ll just have to get used to it,” Ji Yeon said, throwing an arm over your shoulders. “They act like we’re helpless and try to do everything for us.”

“That’s not true,” Minseok argued. “It’s called being a gentleman. We simply like doing things for you. It makes us feel needed.”

Hae In rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, because if you didn’t do things for us poor mates, we would never want you around. How could we possibly not need you so we wouldn’t have to lift a finger?”

Ji Yeon flashed Minseok a smirk. “I mean, we can do everything by ourselves. Right, girls?”

The other mates gave a round of giggles in agreement.

Sensing a challenge, Minseok jumped up. “That’s it. You asked for it.” Without hesitation, he came over and scooped Ji Yeon up before throwing her over his shoulder. She didn’t even fight, merely laughing as he carried her out of the kitchen.

Kyungsoo frowned. “I don’t think that was entirely necessary.”

“They could have at least waited until (y/n) was done eating,” Jongdae agreed. Still a bit slow, your cheeks heated up when exactly Ji Yeon was emphasizing hit you. As much as you loved the pack, when were you allowed to go back to your own place? You could feel your mind slowly getting closer and closer to the gutter every day.

Hiding your face by bowing your head, you sat down at the breakfast booth and started on your dinner.

Junmyeon shook his head, standing up. “I can never get anyone to stay serious for five minutes.”

“It’s a coping mechanism,” Sehun laughed. “What’s the point in being serious all the time? We can’t do any about the curse right now, so why bother dwelling on it?” Jongdae growled at that statement, making Sehun flinch. “Sorry, hyung.”

“I’ll contact Soomi,” Junmyeon sighed. “Maybe she’ll be able to help.”

“Who’s Soomi?” you asked after swallowing a mouthful of rice.

Jongdae, who had slid into the booth next to you and draped an arm around your shoulders, smirked. “A friend of Junmyeon’s that also happens to be a witch. They met while he was doing his research, trying to find the origin for our species.”

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon warned.

Finished eating, you tilted your head, looking at the alpha and asked without thinking, “Is she your mate?”

Several of the boys busted into laughter while Junmyeon’s face turned red.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, shrinking back into your seat. Jongdae squeezed your arm as he held back his own laughs.

“No,” Junmyeon shook his head frantically. “She’s just a friend. I’m going to go call her now. See how fast she can get out here.”

He hightailed it out of the kitchen like he was on fire.

You scratched the back of your ear, feeling your own face heat up. “I guess I need to remember that he’s still my professor.”

“Don’t worry about,” Kimberly said, standing up out of her seat. “It was an honest question.” She tugged Jongin up as well and they left the kitchen. A few of the others followed them out until only Hae In and Baekhyun remained. Leaving the table for the booth, they slid in on the opposite side.

“He does like her a lot,” Hae In divulged, taking a sip of your water. “But he won’t ask her out.”

You knit your eyebrows together. “Why not?”

“The past year and a half has been wild,” Baekhyun exclaimed. “After Minseok found Ji Yeon in the woods taking photos, mates have just been rolling in. Me and Hae In, Yixing and Ming. Technically, you and Jongdae met first, but Jongin actually chased Kimberly down after he bumped into her at the restaurant, literally.”

“So, what does that have to do with if Junmyeon likes this Soomi girl?” you asked, turning to Jongdae.

He sighed. “We never know when our mates show up. It just happens. And anyone who came before doesn’t matter anymore.”

“That’s a mean way to put it,” Hae In scolded.

Jongdae shrugged. “But it’s the truth. Once you find your mate, any feelings you had for someone else just disappear. Even if you’ve been in a relationship with that person for years. Only the mate and the pack matter. Junmyeon doesn’t want to start something with Soomi and then have his mate come along and have to break Soomi’s heart.” You nodded, understanding that line of thinking. “It’s a pretty automatic process. Baekhyun, you remember you were still hung up on Daisy until you met Hae In. Now, you don’t care.”

Baekhyun cringed in an overly dramatic fashion while Hae In raised an eyebrow.

“Daisy?” Hae In said with fake enthusiasm. “As in the same Daisy from your Calculus class? The same Daisy that has been giving me the death glare every day for the past six months and you’ve told me that you have no idea why she would be doing that since you’ve only had a few conversations with her?”

“That might not be an entire lie,” Jongdae chimed in. “I don’t think they did much talking.”

“Oh, really?” Hae In scoffed. The look she threw Baekhyun before storming out of the kitchen told even you that he was in some serious trouble.

Baekhyun looked like he was going to kill Jongdae. “Thanks a lot, asshole.”

Jongdae shrugged innocently. “I didn’t know you hadn’t told her.”

Shaking his head, Baekhyun ran after his mate, calling her name loudly.

You punched Jongdae in the arm, who let out a short yelp. “That was mean. You knew what you were doing.”

“It was payback,” he whined. “Baekhyun has been torturing me the past few months.”

You wanted to ask him whose fault that really was, but you bit your tongue. No need to start another argument. Instead, you blew out air from between your lips, thinking. It seems you might have gotten stuck with a childish mate.

**

You were one more incident away from killing Jongdae. Yes, Ji Yeon had taken you aside and really warned you about how clinging and overly protective a wolf could be once he’s accepted his mate. Apparently, it would only subside a bit when you were “claimed”. You tried to get more out of her about that last piece of information, but Minseok came and stole her away, simply saying he needed her. You wondered if he’d taken her away on purpose.

To be honest, you liked having Jongdae around more, getting his attention without trying. Sometimes the two of you would stay up in his bedroom, talking, really getting to know each other. He still shied away from talking about his family, but you figured in time he would tell you. He knew almost everything about you now and he still showed no since of leaving.

On the other hand, there were times where you’d be sitting in the living room or in the kitchen trying to do your homework and, instead of doing his own, Jongdae would be playing with your hair or kissing your neck. You loved affection – craved it from him – but you really needed to focus and it was nearly impossible with him around.

But it was at the absolute worse when you just wanted some space. It seemed the only time you were ever actually alone anymore was when you showered and went to the bathroom. Jongdae’s professors were now emailing his assignments, too, so he could keep an eye on you and make sure no one tried to attack the house. After years of being a loner, you got used to having time to yourself. You liked having it. Even when you were forced to come here, you still got alone time. That had all disappeared now.

At the moment, you were washing dishes in the sink. Lunch was now over and Junmyeon had asked Jongdae to check the perimeter with him. You’d shot the alpha a grateful look behind Jongdae’s back.

However, the checking never seemed to take too long. A pair of arms snaked around your waist and the matching lips soon found the side of your neck. You ignored Jongdae, only having a few utensils left to scrub clean.

Frustrated at your lack of response, Jongdae pulled you in closer to his chest as he let out a rumbling growl.

“Not right now,” you mumbled.

While kissing Jongdae was certainly a fun – if slightly addicting – activity, the last few times had gotten fairly heated with both of you losing pieces of clothing. Admittedly, that scared you a bit. You weren’t sure if you fully trusted him yet to take that step you knew he was desperate to get to. The worst part was you didn’t know how to tell him that.

“(y/n),” he groaned. His hands left their resting place on your stomach to your hips. His mouth was right up against your ear. “Minseok can finish them.”

“No,” you answered. “He always does them. That’s why I volunteered. He’s not the maid.”

Jongdae growled again. One hand stayed put on your hip, the other trickled down to your exposed thigh thanks to your shorts. His fingers were getting dangerously close to the space in between your legs.

“I said no!” You pushed Jongdae away, making a splash in the sink where you dropped the washcloth in the soapy water.

Hurt at your rejection, he put his hands up and took several steps away from you. “I’m sorry.”

You turned back to the dishes, shaking your head. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. I made you uncomfortable.” Jongdae stood beside you at the sink, not touching you and giving you a good amount of space. “Babe, is everything alright?”

You hated it when he called you that.

No, you didn’t. You loved it. It felt so intimate. Anyone could call you by your name, but only Jongdae could call you that. It made you soft. And wanted. It was only in this moment you hated it because it made you want to answer him.

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

Everything. “Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

Rinsing off the last fork, you placed it on the drying rack before wiping your hands and turning around to lean against the counter. “I just…,” you sighed, deciding to give him a half-truth. “I just feel smothered.”

His jaw dropped. “Smothered?”

“Yeah, I–” god, how were you supposed to say this? He was going to hate you. “I’m so used to be alone that having you all of a sudden be constantly with me is kind of… suffocating me.”

Jongdae ran a hand through his hair, processing what you had said. “I-I’m sorry. I guess I was just trying to make up for the past. I’ll give you space.”

The sad wolf turned to leave and you suddenly felt guilty. Of course he was only trying to show you that you were his. That he cared.

Sighing, you ran up behind him and gave him a hug, letting your cheek rest against his back. “I know this will now seem hypocritical, but don’t go. I can’t enjoy the alone time if I know you’re upset.”

Jongdae shifted around in your arms, not giving you the chance to let go before he returned your hug. “It’s not just that. The longer you go without being marked, the more anxious the wolf gets. That makes me want to be around you constantly, especially when there are other unmated wolves around.”

You took in what he said, understanding that there were parts of him being a wolf and being mated that you still didn’t quite comprehend. A few things he had explained to you, but other subjects he steered clear of. And there was that word again. Marked.

“What does that mean, exactly?” you asked. “Being marked?” To be honest, it sounded a bit painful.

Jongdae stiffened in your arms before clearing his throat. “We’ll talk about it later. It sounds like Kyungsoo’s back from the airport with Soomi.”

Right on que, everyone piled into the kitchen. Last to enter was Junmyeon, escorting a pretty girl with long black hair that reached her hips and big brown eyes that sparkled as she smiled. She was wearing – well – what you pictured a hippy would wear these days. Her jeans had patches of dirt on them and her sheer floral blouse hung off both shoulders. Part of you was wondering where her flower crown was.

“You must be (y/n)!” she bounced up to you and gave you a hug, squeezing in between you and Jongdae without a care.

“H-hi,” you stuttered in surprise. “You must be Soomi.”

She pulled away, a blinding smile shining back at you. “Yes, I am. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo have told me all about you! It’s so exciting to meet you.”

You weren’t sure what to say. Over her shoulder you saw Junmyeon staring at her with soft eyes. You felt bad for him, but you were also very confused. This wasn’t exactly how you imagined Soomi once you learned about Junmyeon’s little crush.

“Soomi, I have the curse here.” Junmyeon pulled her attention away to a small wooden box sitting on the dining table. You frowned, not having noticed it before. It was nothing special, only a few centimeters bigger than your hand and lacking any decoration.

Everyone shuffled over to the table, taking seats. As there weren’t enough chairs, you ended up on Jongdae’s lap.

Soomi sat at the head, lifting the lid slowly. After taking the envelope out carefully, she laid it out on the table. Pulling a small sack out from her bag, she sprinkled a familiar looking powder over the top while muttering something under her breath.

“What is that?” you inquired.

Jongdae squeezed your thigh lightly, signaling you to stay quiet, but Soomi answered anyway. “Wolfsbane ash.”

The wolves closest to her leaned back in their chairs, now weary of the substance.

Smoke poured from the edges of the envelope. The parchment began to burn away on the top, exposing lettering or symbols hidden underneath. Soomi stopped chanting, her eyes widening in horror.

“Soomi, what is it?” Junmyeon asked, leaning over her and trying to read whatever had appeared.

She didn’t answer him, instead training her eyes on you. “(y/n). This is going to a personal question, but have you been marked yet?”

“I-” You turned to Jongdae, unsure of how to answer. You knew you weren’t, but….

He shook his head, his arms gripping you tighter. “No, she hasn’t.”

Some of the tension in Soomi’s shoulder’s subsided a bit. “Good. That’s good.”

Jongdae growled ferociously, making you jump.

“Jongdae!” Junmyeon snapped. It cut off the threatening noise, but you could still feel Jongdae’s protectiveness in the way he held onto you. Junmyeon looked to Soomi. “Why is that a good thing?”

Soomi looked at you with sad, empathetic eyes. “This curse is very powerful dark magic. This coven is dangerous. They’re willing to break laws to get to her.”

“What exactly is the curse?” Yixing asked. “What makes it so powerful?”

“This curse is linked to (y/n), so it’s able to get around whatever it is that protects wolves from our magic.” She shifted her gaze to Jongdae. “I’m sorry. But – according to this curse – if you mark (y/n), she will die.”


	11. Marking

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Jongdae was shaking violently underneath you. No one could speak, displaying shocked eyes and dropped jaws. 

Perhaps sensing a bad situation as Jondae’s current state, Chanyeol jumped up out his chair and tried to reach for you, but Jongdae tightened his grip to an almost painful level around your waist and let out a sound you could only describe as a roar.

“How did Eun Na do this?” Jongdae asked, his forehead resting on your shoulder in an attempt to stable himself. Worry washed through you as you rubbed your hand up and down his arm, trying to calm him. “HOW!”

“I can’t know all the specifics,” Soomi answered carefully. “But a spell like this would require a piece of the individual to perform the curse. Like hair.”

Jongdae’s breathing was getting shallower by the second. You could feel each burst of air escaping his lungs on your back. It was hot and angry, danger underlining breath. “Her hair? That bitch used her hair to curse her?”

“That’s the only thing I can think of that she’d be able to get ahold of,” Soomi replied. “Although, from what Junmyeon said, (y/n)’s been here for a while, so I’m not sure how she could have gotten it.”

“They were friends,” Ji Yeon explained. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she kept some around or stole it from her apartment. Just in case.”

“Um, hyung?” Baekhyun turned to the alpha. “He doesn’t look good.”

Moving his gaze over to your direction, Junmyeon approached the two of you at a slower pace than Chanyeol, hands held out like he was trying to calm down a wild animal. “Jongdae, listen to me. You are on the verge of turning. I see you fighting it. At this point, you’re not going to win. You’re emotions are too rampant. If you phase right here, you are going to hurt (y/n). Let her go and run this off.”

Jongdae’s entire body was vibrating now. A continuous growl reverberated out of his chest. But, seeing reason through his yellow eyes, he listened and let you go. He practically shoved you off of him as he ran out the back door. An ear piercing howl cut through the air not a moment later and you could feel the pain and torment he was letting out through it.

Running to you, Ji Yeon pulled you into her chest, rubbing your back to try and sooth you. As wonderful as a gesture it was, you softly pushed her away. You hadn’t realized that some of the shaking was coming from you, but it was subsiding now as your brain started to work again.

“What exactly does it mean to be marked?” you asked quietly, knowing full well even the mates could hear a pin drop in the silence of the room. With Jongdae’s reaction, you knew it was even more significant that you’d previously thought.

Ji Yeon looked to the other girls before taking a step back. One by one, the pulled the collars of their shirts over their shoulder. Each one of them had a scar located on the now exposed skin in the shape of a crescent moon. It wasn’t clean like a cut or burn. The edges were jagged, ripped… like a bite.

You cringed away from the sight. Baekhyun kissed the scar on Hae In’s shoulder, looking so proud.

“Being marked is the most important thing that can happen between mates,” Kimberly explained, releasing her shirt and covering up the moon once again. “It strengthens the bond between the two of you.”

“The urge to mark your mate to keep others away is strong,” Yixing added. “Overwhelmingly so. The emotions that come with not having your mate marked, especially with unmated wolves around, are erratic and at times uncontrollable. The mark tells others to stay away, like a warning about who that mate belongs to.”

“Jongin and Kimberly only lasted a week after he told her,” Sehun snickered.

“Shut up,” Jongin snapped. Kimberly looked like she was about to jump across the table at the youngest member.

You should have expected something like this. Marked doesn’t exactly leave room for the imagination. But being bitten? To the point of being marred for life?

You shook your head, digging your fingers into your hair, “This sounds like a cult.”

“She’s not wrong,” Hae In shrugged when some of the others widened their eyes.

“It’s not a cult thing,” Ming insisted, somewhat hurt by your comment. “It’s just in their nature. It comes with being a mate. And it really doesn’t hurt.”

You frowned. “How is him biting my shoulder not supposed to hurt?”

“I think it’s best that Jongdae explain the rest to you after he calms down,” Ji Yeon cut in. “Some details are more… personal.”

“In the meantime,” Junmyeon, “Soomi, do you think you can find a way to break the curse?”

The witch sighed, not looking very hopefully at the idea. “I can try. I’ll have to contact a mother first. Like I said earlier, that coven had to break our laws to perform this spell. My options might be limited.”

“A mother?” you questioned.

Soomi gave you a soft, sympathetic smile. “Someone who is higher up in the world of witches. Our system is a matriarchy. We have mothers, crones, coven heads. Mothers are those who are older and have spent their lives studying one type of magic in order to guide the younger generations. I think I should contact Mother Calla. She might be the most knowledgeable on breaking curses.”

“What did she specialize in?” You wondered if she too studied dark magic. Wouldn’t that be the best place to start?

“Defensive magic,” she replied. “Protection. However, with that comes knowing about different curses and how to break them. Even if she doesn’t have an answer, she should know a sister who does.”

Soomi kept referring to the witches as female – sisters and mothers – but you could have sworn there were boys there the night of the bonfire as well. “Are all witches girls?”

Her lips fell and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “No. There are male witches as well.”

“It’s a sensitive subject,” Junmyeon intervened. “Some believe that leadership roles should be expanded to all those who are gifted with magic, while others want to remain traditional and keep the female witches in charge. Some have even proposed not teaching male witches anything about magic.”

“Even in this day and age, a son being born into a witch family is taken as a disappointment,” Soomi added.

“That’s…,” you weren’t even sure how to respond.

“Tradition is a hard thing to change,” she sighed. Standing up, she put the envelope back in the wooden box and closed the lid. “Junmyeon, do you mind if I take this? Mother Calla will need to see it firsthand.”

“Go right ahead,” he nodded. “I doubt any of us want it staying here.”

“I’ll be back in a few days.” Soomi headed for the door and then stopped. “Oh, the wolfsbane–”

“I’ll clean it up,” Ji Yeon volunteered.

Eventually, everyone cleared the room. Minseok and Chanyeol volunteered to go find Jongdae and make sure he was okay and had calmed down enough to come home. Your room that you now shared with your mate seemed too isolated and gloomy with only your presence occupying it, but what else could you do? So, you sat on the bed with your back up against the headboard as your mind tried not to dwell on the current turn of events.

No one came to disturb you or try to tell you everything would be alright. You’d been cursed to die – by the person who you used to share all your secrets and wishes with, no less. Was she really that desperate for her plan to work? And what exactly was her reasoning? Was it revenge? Pure spite?

You couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard you worked your brain. You didn’t know enough about Eun Na to pin down a theory. Enough of the truth, anyway.

A shuffling sound broke you out of your thoughts. Jongdae opened the door and entered the bedroom in a fresh change of clothes. You weren’t sure where he got them, but one of the boys must have had it handy for him. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were red. Before you could stand up to go him, he reached you first, dropping to his knees and wrapping you up in his embrace.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” he whispered into your lap.

“I’m alright,” you reassured him, returning the hug with force and rubbing his back.

Sighing, Jongdae got up beside you on the bed, pulling you into his lap in the process and resting your legs on either side of him. He pushed a lock of hair out of your face, placing it behind your ear affectionately. “I really could have hurt you, (y/n). I just – that wasn’t what I was expecting when the curse arrived. To have that taken away… I just lost control.”

“Hey, look at me.” You cupped his jaw with both hands, forcing him to make eye contact with you. “You wouldn’t have hurt me.”

“My precious mate,” he murmured, closing his eyes and turning his face so he could kiss the palm of your hand. “Keeping you unmarked for so long has been driving me crazy. But you asked to take it slow.” He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” you reprimanded. “Besides, now this gives me a little bit of time to come to terms with the idea of you having to bite me.”

Jongdae growled, but you weren’t sure if it was out of irritation or something more… sensual. His facial expression was changing, melting away the sorrow that had been there a mere few seconds before. “I wouldn’t just out right bite you, babe. I’d be… distracting you while it happened.”

You gulped. “D-distracting me?”

A smirk grew on his lips. As nice as it was that his mood was lightening, your heart was beginning to speed up in your chest. His hands trailed down until they were resting on your thighs. “M-hm. I’d occupy your attention. You’d never even know it was happening.”

Your palms were getting clammy. That predatory look was showing in his eyes, the kind you knew all too well. His run in wolf form must have burnt off most of the aggression, with the other emotions left in its place.

Agonizingly slow, Jongdae leaned in, barely brushing his lips over yours. You hated it when he did that, purposefully teasing you so you’d be the one to jump in first. And this moment, you took the bait.

You dived into the kiss, lifting yourself up on your knees just a bit as your fingers twined into his hair. Jongdae’s hands left your thighs, one resting on the curve of your butt, hooking you in closer to him, while the other held you steady by your back.

His lips took the dominance easily, guiding yours open to allow his tongue inside. You moaned into the kiss, only egging Jongdae on more. His hips pressed in yours as his broke the kiss and started his way down your jaw. The hand on your back had snaked its way up your shirt, teasingly pulling at your bra. You fisted a handful of his shirt as he took a little snip at your neck.

Maybe it was because of what had happened earlier in the kitchen or because you were lost in the moment, but your fear of what might come next had subsided greatly. You were sure it’d come back in force once your mind was back to normal, but right now, all you wanted was Jongdae. Perhaps your own instincts were taking over.

His possessive growl was doing something to you inside. You started tugging at his shirt, wanting it off. Jongdae obliged, removing it with a swiftness you hadn’t seen before. He was back at your neck, attacking it with sloppy kisses as your fingers explored his chest. Against your skin, you felt something extend. Teeth. You gasped.

In a flashed, Jongdae had pushed you off of him. His fist slammed against the headboard. “Damn it!”

You reached out tentatively, making contact with his shoulders. His head was now hanging between his legs as his arms rested on his knees.

“Jongdae?”

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” he mumbled, still not looking up.

You crawled over to him, wrapping your legs and arms around him from the side like a koala, kissing his shoulder. “So, I’m guessing that’s the kind of distraction you’d be giving me?”

He actually chuckled, lifting his head and placing a kiss on your forehead. “That was just a taste. I’d hold myself back from marking you until the end when we’re able to. Right now, I just wasn’t thinking about anything but finally having you.”

“Oh.” You loosened your grip on him, taking your arms back as your cheeks heated up.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Jongdae practically tackled you as he felt you pull away from him. You were now pinned to the sheets underneath him. He ran his knuckles over your cheek. “You blush so easily.”

“Jongdae….” You squirmed under him, only because his closeness was getting your heart rate up again. Stupid body and its betrayal.

He was resting between your legs as he lowered himself down to kiss you. “God, you’re so tempting.”

“We’ve got time,” you huffed down. Breathing was becoming hard and it wasn’t due to his weight on you. Damn it, he was corrupting you. The worst part of it was you were liking it. “Maybe we could… try things out? Work on your self-control?”

Jongdae chuckled. “Are you suggesting practice rounds?”

You hit him square on the chest. “You are such a jerk.”

He shifted the two of you so he was now lying down facing you, your limbs entangled. Using his free hand that wasn’t holding you to him, he brought your face to his, giving you a very light kiss on the lips. “You know, I don’t think I’ve said it in a while. I love you.”

Grinning, you tapped the spot you’d hit him at with your index finger, melting inside from his declaration. “I love you, too.”


	12. Smothered

You woke up after a surprisingly peaceful night’s sleep in Jongdae’s arms, pressed tightly against his chest. Both of you had fallen asleep still in yesterday’s clothes. The heat radiating from Jongdae had caused you to kick off the sheets sometime in the night and now they were tossed out on the floor.

As wonderful as it was to be in his embrace, nature was calling. You tried to wiggle out, but each attempt reinforced his grip.

“Jongdae,” you whined. “Jongdae, I need to get up.”

He growled, still fast asleep.

“Come on,” you grunted. He was too strong. Your cheek was squished up against his collarbone, the sharp point digging in painfully. “Jongdae!”

“No!” he cried out. “Can’t take her!”

Was he… having a bad dream?

“Jongdae, wake up!” You moved back and forth, doing everything you could to wake your mate up, but it wasn’t working. His arms were tightening around you with each passing second. “Jongdae, I can’t breathe! You’re hurting me!”

That did it.

Jongdae’s eyes snapped open. You were shoved off the bed, rolling down to the floor, as he shot up to a sitting position. His breathing was heavy and little beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Your knees were red and stung from hitting the hardwood floor, but you would worry about that later. Grabbing hold of the mattress, you pulled yourself up to your feet and then crawled back up on the bed.

Realizing what he’d done, Jongdae threw his arms around you loosely, careful not to hurt you again.

“Oh, god, (y/n), I’m so sorry!”

You rubbed his back. “It’s okay,” you murmured in his ear. “What happened?”

Jongdae sat back, keeping ahold of your hand as he shook his head. “Just a bad dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” you suggested.

He sighed. “It was just… bad. The witches were trying take you away from me. All I could do was hold onto you. If I let go… I would lose you.”

“You’re not going to lose me.” You squeezed his hand reassuringly. As sweet as this moment was, you hadn’t forgotten the reason you’d woken up in the first place. Sliding off the bed, you started for the door. Jongdae jumped up after you, stopping you by your wrist.

“Where are you going?” he asked frantically.

Rolling your eyes, you gave him the stink eye. “Jongdae, I have to pee. I’ll be across the hall in the bathroom. I don’t think they’ll get me in there.”

How awkward would that be?

Embarrassed, Jongdae’s face turned red and he released you. “Sorry.”

You kissed his blushing cheek. “It’s fine. I’ll be right back.”

After finishing up in the bathroom, you walked into the hallway only to meet Hae In. She was leaning against Baekhyun’s door wearing a t-shirt you were pretty sure you’d seen on Baekhyun before along with a pair of athletic shorts. A smirk was stretched across her lips.

“Typically, wearing yesterday’s clothes would insinuate the walk of shame,” she chuckled, “but considering how quiet it was last night, I don’t think that was the case.”

You frowned at her. “Isn’t that associated with one-night stands?”

She shrugged. “I think it’s okay in any situation. Although, you might not want Jongdae to hear you mention that.”

“Too late.”

Jongdae stepped out of the bedroom, a towel draped across his arm.

“Morning, Jongdae,” Hae In waved teasingly.

“Good morning, Hae In.” He kissed your neck, lowering his voice, “I’m going to take a shower real quick.”

“Okay,” you nodded. Sniffing, you joked, “You could really use one.”

A low rumble escaped his chest. “Keep poking and I might-”

“(y/n), why don’t we go get breakfast started?” Hae In interrupted before Jongdae could finish that thought.

“Good idea,” you agreed and the two of you flounced to the stairs before your mate could say anything in protest.

Down in the kitchen, you and Hae In worked together, mixing some batter for pancakes and laying out slices of bacon to cook.

“Did everyone spend the night?” you asked, saying anything for conversation after almost ten minutes of silence.

Hae In shook her head. “No. Mostly everyone did, but Jongin took Kimberly back to her apartment for some ‘alone time’. I swear, he might as well just move in there.”

You thought about living alone with Jongdae and you quite liked the idea of a domestic life with just the two of you. “Do you think he ever will?”

“He can’t.” Jongdae stepped into the kitchen, Baekhyun right behind him. “The pack sticks together. No one moves out.”

That really was a quick shower.

Baekhyun stood behind his mate, snaking his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, watching her flip the pancakes over in the pan.

On the other hand, Jongdae gently took the spatula from you, taking over the cooking of the bacon. He rarely ever helped out with making the meals, usually only doing so when forced by Junmyeon to “do his part”. He must be trying to make up for scaring you earlier.

“Is that because Junmyeon said so?” you inquired.

The two to your left widen their eyes at you as Jongdae cleared his throat.

“No,” he answered. “It’s dangerous being away from the pack. We protect each other. If you’re living away from the rest, you’re vulnerable. Whether it’s a rival pack or witches or vampires-”

“Vampires?!” you screeched. “Those are real, too?”

Jongdae gave you a look. “That really surprises you?”

You huffed. “What else? The Loch Ness Monster?”

He rolled his eyes, “That’s a tourist trap.”

“Worth a shot,” you mumbled.

Laughing, Jongdae kissed your cheek before taking the crisped up bacon and slipping the slices on the plate you’d gotten out earlier.

“Hurry up,” Baekhyun complained as he sat down at the breakfast booth. Hae In was sliding in next to him after dividing out the pancakes. “I’m hungry!”

Giggling, you swiped the plate of bacon and went to join the impatient pair.

**

You were reverting back to going crazy. There was only so much you could do in the limited space of the farm house. In the evenings you would play board games or gossip with the girls. You were sure you’d put together every puzzle in the house. Anyone might have called you insane, but you actually missed going to class and work. At least then you were out of the house. Even the porch was off limits unless Jongdae was out there with you.

It was hard to believe that someone could be both suffocating and distant at the same time. Most likely a result of both your plea for space and the curse, Jongdae was less touchy with you. Kisses were kept to foreheads, cheeks, and brief, chaste ones to the lips. He’d hold your hand but he didn’t pull you into his lap or press his face into the crook of your neck anymore. And, surprising yourself, you missed the more passionate encounters.

You tried to concentrate on the novel in your hands. Over and over, you read the first sentence on the page, not comprehending any of the letters or the words they formed as Jongdae played with your hair. The two of you were settled on the bed, sitting up against the headboard with no room left between the two of you. A tingling sensation played at your lips as you fought with the little voice in your head that was urging you to throw the book away, straddle his waist and take charge.

Sighing, you put the book down.

“What is it?” Jongdae dropped his hand, leaning forward to look at your face with concern.

Instead of answering, you placed the book on the nightstand and hooked your arms around his neck. You had to bite back a giggle when a look of confusion came across his face. Your fingers teased the nape of his neck. Licking your lips, you leaned forward, dodging his own mouth and gently pressing your lips on the sensitive spot under his ear.

“(y/n),” he groaned, closing his eyes.

You smirked against his skin, throwing one leg over his lap and adjust so you were nose to nose. The teasing didn’t last long. Jongdae pressed one hand into the small of your back as he let out a possessive growl. His mouth crashed into yours and you let him take over, your job now done.

His fingers of his free hand were caressing your thigh, tickling the skin. One of your own hands snaked down his chest, playing with the hem before sneaking up under the clothing.

And then, without any warning or sign, Jongdae pulled away, lifting you up off his lap and back onto the bed next to him. You actually pouted.

Jongdae whined. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Grabbing your book, you opened it up at a random page, pretending to read as you sat there fuming. It was petty, but your feelings were hurt. Swiping the book out of your hands, Jongdae wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in close to him.

“(y/n), look at me.”

Nope. You refused.

“(y/n).” Jongdae sighed, resting his forehead against your shoulder. “Don’t be mad. Please. I just don’t want to lose concentration and take this too far.”

You jutted your bottom lip even further, making him laugh. Unable to resist, he kissed you, in return making you unable to bite back a smile.

“I’m not going to say I’m sorry,” you declared. “But I guess I can try to be more understanding. I was just starved of affection, that’s all.”

Jongdae raised an eyebrow at you. “Starved of affection? What are you talking about? First you get mad because I’m too touchy and now I’m not touchy enough?”

You shrugged innocently. “It’s called a happy medium.”

He shook his head. “You are impossible.”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in!” Jongdae called out, probably happy at the interruption for once.

Ming and Kyungsoo stepped inside the bedroom, not even phased by the embrace they found you in.

“Hey, Jongdae?” Ming’s hands were behind her back and she rocked back and forth on her feet, like she was preparing for something. “Kyungsoo and I are about to leave to go to the grocery store and we figured (y/n) might like to join us? You know, get out of the house for a little while?”

Leave? You perked up at the idea, a smile spreading across your face.

“No,” Jongdae stated firmly. And your smile was gone.

“What?” You turned to him, your jaw hanging on its hinges. “Why?”

Letting you go, Jongdae slid off the bed, standing up to face you. “You’re not leaving this house.”

You jumped up as well, utterly shocked. “Oh, so I’m a prisoner now?”

“It’s for your safety, (y/n)!” Jongdae was on the verge of yelling the roof off. “Even Junmyeon said for you to stay here.”

Ming and Kyungsoo slowly back away towards the door.

“I’m sorry,” Ming whispered. “I didn’t mean-” Kyungsoo pulled her out of the room and shut the door before she could finish her apology.

“It’s dangerous, (y/n),” Jongdae continued, crossing his arms over his chest. “Eun Na and her coven could show up in the parking lot and snatch you away. Or worse.”

“Kyungsoo would have been there and you guys are immune to their magic!” you argued.

“He still could have gotten distracted,” he countered. “I’m not going to risk you for eggs and rice!”

You threw your arms up in the air. “It’s not about the groceries, Jongdae! It’s about letting me out of the house so I can feel normal for a change! I’m losing my mind being locked up in here! All I can do is stare out the window. Sure, I have homework to do most days, but the end of the semester is coming up and then what? I’m sick of twiddling my thumbs waiting for something to either happen to me or for Eun Na to just give up! I’m pretty sure the latter is never going to happen.”

You understood that he was trying to protect you, but you couldn’t stop yourself. There was too much pent up emotion. The bottle had been uncorked and now everything was pouring out.

“I want my old life back,” you sighed, tears brimming your eyes. “I want to be able to go to the movies or grab a cup of coffee or stroll down the business district without fearing for my life! I want us to grab dinner at a nice restaurant or stay out too late on a weeknight, like a normal couple. I want to goof around in the aisles of a grocery store, laughing with you when we should be acting like adults. I want to forget that werewolves and witches and whatever the hell else exists and just be (y/n), if only for a few hours. Why is that so hard to understand?”

The fight was gone out Jongdae at the sight of you crying. “(y/n)… I’m sorry. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Wiping away the tears with you hand, you said, “Sooner or later, something is going to happen. We can’t pretend that this will all go away. It’s going to come to a head at some point. Either Eun Na will make her move or Soomi will be able to help or maybe you guys will go after them. But something will happen. I just want to be able to live my life until it does.”

Not waiting for a response from the wolf, you grabbed your book and walked out of the room, heading off to find a hiding spot for the time being. You settled in your old room, now vacant. As soon as the door was closed you leaned against it, sliding down to the floor and crying into your knees.


	13. Compromise

At one point Ji Yeon had tried to talk you into speaking to Jongdae again. You fiercely told her no and walked away, not feeling the need to explain yourself. At this point, you just wanted to be mad, irrational or not. You didn’t want everyone telling you to forgive Jongdae so he could stop walking around like a kicked puppy. He hadn’t smiled even once since you took off from the bedroom and that was concerning everyone else.

You’d be lying if you didn’t admit that a part of you missed him; missed his laugh, missed him holding you, but you wanted to get your point across and this was the only way you could think to do it. This feeling, though, was worse than before you ran out into the woods that one day.

It’d been a relatively quiet afternoon. You were reading a book in the backyard, leaning up against the house with the dead grass underneath you. Jongdae had made a sound to stop you from going outside, but you ignored it once again. He came out every few minutes to check to make sure you were still there and you hadn’t run away or been kidnapped.

Kimberly came out after a few hours and sat down next to you, staring out at field.

“Good book?” she inquired. 

You nodded wordlessly. 

“Good. Good.”

The only sound for the next minute or so was when you turned the page.

She sighed, taking the book out of your hands. All you could muster was an annoyed look, holding your hand out for her to give it back.

“Soomi’s back from visiting the mother,” she informed you. “She wants to talk to all of us.”

You huffed. “Fine.”

Getting to your feet, you followed Kimberly back inside where everyone was once again around the table with Soomi at the head. Most of the boys were standing rather than settled in the chairs, most likely due to the anxiety you could feel emanating throughout the room. Jongdae perked up at your entrance, only to deflate once again when you chose the seat farthest from him. Kimberly sighed at your action, sitting down next to you.

Soomi frowned, but ignored what had happened. “Mother Calla finished analyzing the curse yesterday.”

Jongdae leaned towards her, his forearm resting on the table. “What did she say? Can it be broken?”

The look on Soomi’s face said the answer, but she replied anyway. “No. It’s not breakable. But it’s possibly preventable.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Baekhyun scoffed. “What’s the difference?”

“Breaking the spell would be erasing it completely,” she explained. “That’s not possible in this case. The spell is too powerful. However, we might be able to prevent the after effect of the curse. Meaning that it would still go through its process, but we could keep (y/n) from actually dying.”

Digging through her purse, Soomi pulled out a small vile that held a muddy liquid. “Mother Calla worked on this potion with Mother Willow.”

You bit back a snort. Was every Mother named after a plant?

“All (y/n) will have to do is drink the potion right before being marked,” she continued. “It should protect her from… well, dying.”

“Should?” you repeated skeptically.

“Is it not guaranteed?” Junmyeon asked.

Soomi shook her head. “The probability of it working is high, but magic isn’t science. We couldn’t exactly test it beforehand to make sure. The elixir has saved others in the past from powerful curses, but each one was a different case. There’s no hard and fast rules with these things.”

Jongdae ran a hand through his hair anxiously. “Then maybe we should give it time and then–”

“No.”

All eyes snapped towards you in surprise. All except Jongdae, who kept his gaze down at the table. Yixing was the first to speak.

“(y/n), think about it,” he pleaded in his soft voice. “Think about what this is doing to Jong-”

“I have thought about it,” you barked, your voice hitching in your throat. “And honestly, at this point, I would rather live and be unmarked than die. Okay? This is my life, so I’m saying no.”

Everyone wanted to protest, you could tell by their faces. They were all angry at you, probably thinking that you were selfish. But Jongdae nodded, taking the vial from Soomi and putting it in his pocket.

“Thank you, Soomi,” he whispered. “You’ve done more than what we could ask for.” Without waiting for a reply, he stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

The silence was smothering you. You could feel each of them judging you and that caused you to be unable to hold back the tear that fell down your cheek. Kimberly reached out and put her hand on your shoulder comfortingly as you wiped it away with a quiet sniff.

“Excuse me,” you murmured, jumping out of your chair and running out of the room. You kept going until you were out of the house, back on the front porch. Déjà vu hit you, still feeling like an idiot all this time later.

Leaning against one of the white wooden polls next to the stairs, you allowed a few more tears to fall before taking a deep breath and shoving it all back down deep inside. You had to stand by your decision. You wanted to live, right?

Then why did you feel like you were already dead?

The screen door slammed open, making you jump. Jongdae took several steps towards you, grabbing your wrist and pulling you down the stairs.

“What are you doing?” you growled, trying to free yourself. Stupid werewolf and his stupid super strength.

Jongdae didn’t answer you, simply pulling you along to the detached garage, through the door, and all but throwing you into the passenger’s side of his car.

“What the hell is going on?” you demanded. The answer you got was the door shutting in your face.

Jongdae hit the button to open up the garage door with a fist before jumping into the driver’s seat and taking off as soon as the way was clear.

You bombarded him with questions about what he was doing or why he suddenly felt the need to kidnap you, but you were simply met with silence. The confusion only grew once the city limits came into view. Sitting quietly with your arms crossed over your chest, you waited for whatever it was that Jongdae had planned. Part of you couldn’t believe that you were out of the house and back in town, no matter what the reason.

Jongdae parked the car in a public lot, shutting off the engine and coming around to open your door before you even had a chance to unbuckle your seat belt. He held out his hand for you to take and, taking you both by surprise, you did. You let him lace his fingers through yours as he led you down the sidewalk. He stopped outside the old historic theatre that still had its ticket booth on the outside.You’d only been here once or twice, mostly around Halloween when they played midnight showings of Rocky Horror. 

A decade or so ago, the students at the university had fought to get the theatre reopened as a historic landmark and be fully restored for use. Amazingly, they were able to raise the money and now the theatre shows about three or four different classic movies on a two week rotation.

Letting go of your hand, Jongdae approached the booth, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

“Two tickets for The Princess Bride.”

The cashier behind the rounded glass nodded and finished out the transaction, sliding Jongdae his card and the ticket stubs through the half circle hole. When he came back to you, the tickets in his hand, you were dumbfounded. The flood gates opened and you began to sob right there on the sidewalk.

He’d listened. He’d really listened.

Jongdae wrapped you up in his arms, letting you cry into his chest as he rubbed your back soothingly. You could feel his mouth stretch into a smile where it was pressed into your neck. Pulling away, he kept one arm around your waist while he wiped away the tears with this thumb.

“Don’t cry, baby,” he whispered. “It’s just a movie.”

You shook your head. How could you even be minutely angry now? “No, no, it’s not.”

Smiling for the first time in too long of a time, Jongdae kissed you passionately as you giggled. You couldn’t completely forget the fight, but you’d definitely forgiven him. He was trying. He took what you said and was trying.

“I love you,” he whispered when he finally let you breathe again.

“I know,” you replied sincerely.

“We’re not seeing that movie,” he teased.

You poked his stomach playfully. “Jerk.”

He laughed, tugging you into the theatre so you didn’t miss your show.

The theatre was practically empty, only a few other patrons scattered throughout the rows. Jongdae picked the seats almost right in the middle with no one else close to you.

“Did you want any popcorn?” he asked.

You shook your head, opting instead to lift up the arm rest and snuggle in close to his side. An actual purr vibrated his chest as he rested his arm around your shoulders.

“I should have done this a long time ago,” he murmured.

You shrugged. “Thank you, for doing it now.”

“Listen, (y/n), about the potion….”

Sighing, you sat up so you could see his face. Perhaps this was too good to be true. Apparently he was merely trying to butter you up. “Yes?”

“Take all the time you need,” he said, shocking you. “I heard the others talking and I know they think you should just do it, but if you’re scared or worried, I don’t want you to. I’m happy just being with you.”

Your quick conclusion was wrong. Of course it was. You needed to stop doubting him and start trusting. Happy but feeling a little guilty, you kissed his cheek and settled back into his side, saying nothing as the lights dimmed to a soft glow and the credits began to roll.

After the movie was over, Jongdae took you out for dinner at a small mom and pop burger joint and then for ice cream at the parlor down the street. It was already dark as the two of you made your way back to the car. Having real alone time with Jongdae had gotten the wheels in your head turning and you didn’t want to go back to the farm house with almost a dozen other people quite yet. And… you wanted to show him that you loved him, despite how you’ve been treating him recently. And, as you’d been thinking about it a lot, you were sure that you were ready.

Just before he could open the passenger side door, you put your hand over his. “Jongdae?”

He smiled at you. “Yeah?”

“I-it’s r-really late,” you stumbled. Clearing your throat, you said with a little more confidence, “Do you think we could stay at my place tonight? And go back tomorrow?”

Something predatory flashed in his eyes, but they immediately softened up again. “Okay.”

After opening your door, he kissed your forehead and rounded to the other side with speed. Once outside your apartment building, you fished around in the dirt, trying to find your spare key you’d buried in a hollow rock in the bushes since you didn’t have your purse with you. Finding it, Jongdae followed you up to your place. You were nervous as you slid the key into the lock and pushed your door open.

As soon as the two of you were inside and the door locked shut behind you, Jongdae pinned you against the wall, kissing you feverishly as the air left your lungs. You responded in earnest, pulling at the hair on the back of his head, earning a growl as a reward.

Remembering the layout of your apartment from last time, Jongdae lifted you up, making you wrap your legs around his waist as he carried you to your bedroom. But as soon as he laid you down on your bed, he hit the brakes.

His breath was heavy as he straightened up, letting you go. “I shouldn’t have done that. We can’t-”

You pushed yourself up onto your knees, linking your arms around his neck. “Hey, let’s give it a shot. Please?”

That last word killed him, you could tell, from the way he squeezed his eyes shut with his hands resting on your hips. “I don’t know if I’d be able to hold myself back from marking you, (y/n).”

Kissing his neck, you whispered, “I bet you can.”

He growled. “Is that a challenge?”

You giggled, “Maybe.”

That did it. Jongdae slammed you back onto the bed, hovering above you, your wrists locked in his hands by your head.

“Challenge accepted.”

**

Everything from the night before felt like a dream when you woke up the next morning. Imgaes flashed in your mind, making you blush. Jongdae was currently lying on his stomach next to you in your own bed surrounded by your own furnishings and decorations. You really had spent the night alone with him, not worrying about interruptions or someone overhearing. Just like a normal couple.

Your mate was still fast asleep, his arm draped over your stomach protectively. Shivering from the lack of clothing, you tried to wiggle your way off the bed, but his grip tightened, letting a rumble escape from his throat.

Laughing to yourself, you flicked him on the forehead, waking him up instantly.

“Ow!” He flew up to a sitting position, rubbing the sore spot that was turning a bit red. “What was that for?”

“For not letting me up,” you replied, snatching his t-shirt off the floor and pulling it over your head before going to your dresser and pulling out a pair of sports shorts you’d left behind.

Jongdae was now leaning his back against the headboard, raking his eyes up and down your form. “That’s it. I think you’ll only be allowed to wear my shirts from now on.”

“Ha ha, so funny,” you said dryly, rolling your eyes. “I’m hungry. I’m going to make breakfast.”

At the promise of food, Jongdae jumped out of bed, pulling his jeans on as he followed you to your kitchen. Unfortunately, a majority of your food had gone bad from being gone so long, save a gallon of orange juice and the bread you kept above the fridge.

“Toast it is,” you murmured, pouring both of you a glass of OJ and sticking slices into the toaster.

Jongdae leaned against the counter, grabbing one of the glasses and chugging it empty. He frowned, staring down at the ugly tile. “Last night actually happened, right?” You giggled, walking over to him and hugging him around his waist as you nodded. He smiled, warming you up in his arms. “Good. I thought it was just a wildly vivid dream.”

Shaking your head, you pulled out of his embrace. “I don’t even want to know what kind of dreams you’ve been having.”

“Hey, come on n-”

Jongdae was doubled over, holding his head as he grasped onto the counter to keep himself upright. He fell to his knees as you ran back to him.

“Jongdae?” you cried. “Jongdae, what’s wrong?”

“I… don’t… kn….” He collapsed completely to the ground, unconscious. After a few shakes from you, he still didn’t move. His pockets were empty, not a phone in sight. You ran back to the bedroom, searching the floor for his cellphone, thinking maybe it’d fallen out from last night. You found it half hidden under your bed. There were five missed calls from Junmyeon. You dialed him back right away.

“Damn it, Jongdae! Where the hell have you–”

“Junmyeon, its (y/n)!” you yelled into the phone. “Jongdae just collapsed! I don’t know what happened!”

“(y/n)? Where are you?”

“My apartment. We spent–” you stopped, hearing some sort of noise from the kitchen and running to see if Jongdae had woken up.

He hadn’t. Instead, your worst nightmare was standing in your living room, flanked by two male members of her coven that you certainly couldn’t out match.

“(y/n)?” Junmyeon called out on the other line. “(y/n), are you there? (y/n)!”

Eun Na smirked as you dropped the cell phone, to shock to even move.

“Hello, (y/n). Did you have fun yesterday?”


	14. Eun Na

You ran. It was stupid, but it’s what you did, not really seeing any other options. You ran to your bedroom, slamming the door closed and locking it before running for the window. The clasp on the window was rusted from lack of use, making you work hard to shove the damn thing open. Before you could start climbing out of it, Eun Na’s face appeared before yours.

“Boo!”

She laughed maniacally as you scrambled back. Her two goons yanked you up by your arms, holding you in place while Eun Na stepped back inside.

“Running from witches?” she scoffed. “Not a very smart move. I mean, did you actually think you’d get away?”

“Just leave me alone!” you screamed, the force ripping at your throat. “How can any of this be worth it?”

The smirk disappeared from her face before you could blink. She stepped up so she was nearly toe to toe with you. Her voice lowered to a menacing tone, sending a shiver down your spine.

“You have no idea how worth it all of this is.”

Her eyes left you, motioning with her eyes for the ones holding you to move out. When you got back to the living room one of them let go of you, heading to Jongdae and throwing him over his shoulder. A hand covered your mouth, only a cloth separating your skins. You fought against the hold, trying not to breath in the chemical you knew the cloth was soaked in. It took longer than you’d imagined, but eventually you lost the fight and consciousness.

**

After waking up in the middle of the forest again, you were really considering the thought of never seeing another tree for the rest of you life. This time, though, you weren’t scared. You were angry. Angry that you were once again in this position and that really this was all your fault. You were the one who wanted to stay in your vulnerable apartment instead of surrounded by the safety of the pack. If you hadn’t asked to stay in the city, you wouldn’t be here in this position.

Now, you were lying down on a ritualistic slab of rock, your wrists chained above your head, making escape impossible. Looking around, you seemed mostly alone in a meadow, save for Jongdae, who was so chained down to his own concrete column he couldn’t even save himself. You pulled at your restrains that were digging into your skin, rattling the metal against the rock. The noise seemed to wake Jongdae from his unconsciousness.

“(y/n)?”

You tried to sit up, but your ankles were also locked down, keeping you from changing positions.

“I’m okay,” you reassured him, adding to yourself, “for now.”

Jongdae growled, wiggling back and forth to loosen his restraints. It was pointless. As strong as he was, there were at least five layers of brand new chains wrapped around him, keeping him firmly against the column

“Oh, goody, you’re awake.”

Eun Na, along with her with her coven, emerged from the trees. They were back in those black robes. Out of desperation, you pulled at the chains again and again. A useless effort, but one you couldn’t quite stop until Eun Na was right next to you and she put her hand on your wrists, stopping the movement gently. A strange gesture considering the circumstances.

“Get away from her!” Jongdae roared. He went ignored.

Eun Na’s eyes were nearly unreadable when she looked down at you, but what you could catch was a sadness. You prayed that there was enough of a conscience in her to change her mind at the last minute and let you go, however miniscule that hope was. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the vial that held the potion that was supposed to keep you alive.

“Did you enjoy my little gift I sent to you?” she mused. At sympathy was gone from her gaze, the evil smirk had taken over. “Considering you didn’t use this little protection spell when you had the chance, I’m assuming so.”

“You really wanted me dead that much?” you whimpered, your voice catching for a second in your throat.

“It wasn’t about killing you,” she corrected, putting the vial back in her pocket. “It was simply about making sure you stayed unmarked. See, as soon as you were marked, you’d be useless to us, protected by the same magic that protects all werewolves from us. And thus we wouldn’t be able to use you to break that protection. That’s all I cared about. When I caught wind that the two of you might actually be coming together as mates, I couldn’t take the risk of you being marked before I could get to you again.”

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes, fighting the tears that were building up in your eyes. You were so sick of crying, so sick of being in this position. But this was the explosion you predicted to Jongdae during your argument just a few days ago. You hadn’t expected it to come this soon.

“Just tell me why, Eun Na,” you whispered. “Why you are so hell bent on breaking the treaty and killing the pack?”

Jongdae had told you about the treaty Junmyeon’s great-great-grandfather had made with the coven head during his time. They all simply wanted peace in the town they called home and so they agreed to live without fighting, to no longer harm the other and their families. It’d lasted generations and now it was being torn apart.

Eun Na lowered down so her eyes were mere inches from yours. “My sister.”

Your jaw dropped. “Y-your sister?”

She’d never told you about having any siblings. You always assumed that she was an only child. Then again, she never divulged any information about her family. It was mind boggling as you thought back, realizing how little Eun Na talked about herself, never really giving you details about her life beyond the classroom.

“Eun Bi,” she mumbled. “My baby sister.” She straightened up, her eyes settled down, looking at nothing in particular. “She was such a bright light. Not an evil bone in her body. I was so scared when she went off to college because I wouldn’t be there to protect her. She wanted to do something on her own without me hovering over her so she took off to a distant university. I should have been there to protect her.”

Eun Na looked off to the tree line, pausing to keep herself together before continuing.

“When I discovered she was dating a werewolf, I tried to warn her that she would get hurt. But she didn’t listen. And she sounded so happy on the phone that I couldn’t keep arguing with her. And then that bastard found his mate. He dropped my sister without thinking twice about it, simply telling her sorry. She was devastated. She couldn’t think straight. She went to go plead with him and he lost his temper when she started talking about how his mate ruined them.”

Her fingers were digging into the rock, her nails scraping against it as her grip tightened on the edge. “He shifted and attacked her, clawing her face and neck down to her collar bone. She’s lucky she still has her sight, but now she’ll be scarred for the rest of her life. And even after that, she still declared that she loved him, that she wanted him. So, she tried to break the mate bond between them to get him back. She didn’t know that one of them needed to be a willing participant in the spell, so she failed. But the coven she’d joined found out about it and had her expelled from the order. She can never join another coven, never have another family to accept her. All in the name of love for a mongrel.”

A fire was now raging in Eun Na’s eyes, making you feel the heat from where you were. She grabbed your chin, her fingers squeezing your jaw with a fierceness you’d never experienced from her before.

“That is why I am doing this. That is why I am willing to do whatever it takes to eradicate those stupid dogs from the face of this earth. For my sister’s sake.”

“But it wasn’t someone from this pack, was it?” You hoped it wasn’t. None of the mated wolves had mentioned anything about an Eun Bi or accidentally attacking someone out of anger.

“No,” Eun Na answered between clenched teeth. “Eun Bi was going to school in a coastal town. But it doesn’t matter. Once I’m powerful enough to destroy this pack, I’ll continue to wipe out each wolf I come in contact with until I make it to his pack. I’ll save him and his mate for last.”

“You’re insane,” you concluded.

Eun Na pursed his lips, contemplating your comment. “No. I’m simply willing to do anything for my family. Now, it’s time to say goodbye, (y/n). Because once the ritual is done and poor Jongdae here has watched you die, he’ll be the next one to go.”

“You crazy bitch!” Jongdae screamed. “Don’t you dare touch a single hair on her head!”

Eun Na barely acknowledged him over her shoulder. “Ha. I don’t think you’re exactly in a position to be making threats.”

“No, but I am.”

Junmyeon emerged from the trees along with the pack.

Eun Na pulled a knife out of her robe, pressing it against your neck.

“Take one more step and I’ll cut her throat,” she warned.

“No, you won’t,” Junmyeon countered. “You need her, you won’t just kill her outright.”

Eun Na’s determined face flickered for a moment from being caught in her bluff. She turned to her coven.

“Now!”

The one you remembered from the bonfire, Tonya, was closest to the pack and threw a powder into the air, making the boys scramble back. As soon as the powder reached the grass, a wall of fire sprung up, separating the two groups, keeping you and Jongdae on the wrong side.

Eun Na began chanting, putting all her concentration on you and spreading what you recognized as wolfsbane ash around you on the slab. You stared past her, keeping your eyes on the pack. You watched them all transform into their wolf selves, ready for battle as pieces of fabric sprayed everywhere. Bravely, they all jumped through the wall of flames, chasing after the coven members that were scrambling to keep Eun Na protected as she completed the spell.

Three of the wolves went to Jongdae, clawing at the chains and breaking them little by little. Soon, he was free and immediately ran towards you. All the wolves flanked him, attacking any human that dared to try and stop him and block his way to you.

Jongdae tackled Eun Na before she could finish, pinning her to the ground.

“It’s time to end this,” he growled, lifting his hand back behind his head as his claws grew to deadly talons. He was going to kill her. As much as you wanted to be free from her wrath, you didn’t want her death on your conscience.

“Jongdae, no!” you screamed.

He stopped before he could swing, his eyes flickering back and forth between you and Eun Na. Instead of killing her, he swung at the chains holding your wrists hostage, freeing you.

You sat up as the white wolf you recognized as Sehun ran towards the three of you, stepping on Eun Na to keep her down as Jongdae scrambled up to you.

There was only way to end all this without death being involved. At least, without Eun Na’s death.

“Jongdae,” you choked as he pulled you into his arms, tears spilling out of both your eyes and his.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, rubbing your back soothingly. “You’re safe.”

You shook head, staying in the comfort of his embrace. “No. I won’t be until as long as I remain like this.”

Stiffening, Jongdae pulled back. “What do you mean?”

“You need to mark me,” you declared, getting the solution out before you changed your mind. “Right now. That’s the only way this can end.”

He shook his head violently. “No, (y/n). You said it yourself that you didn’t want to take that risk. We don’t know if it’ll work.”

“I’m willing to take that risk now,” you urged. There wasn’t time to argue about this. The rest of the pack was still fighting the coven, trying to avoid the fire that was building up around them. The only way for them to give up, for you to live in peace with your new family, was to make yourself useless to them. Just like Eun Na said. “Please, Jongdae. I have to do this.”

“It’s not supposed to go this way,” he growled, cupping your face in his hands. “Not like this.”

“Jongdae.”

Seeing the desperate plea in your eyes, he finally nodded. “Okay.”

He went back to Eun Na, taking the potion from her as she struggled under Sehun’s weight. As soon as the vial was in your hands, you broke the seal and tipped the glass against your lips, trying not gag as the liquid trickled down your throat.

With a shaky hand, Jongdae pulled your shirt away from your shoulder, exposing the skin. He looked you in the eye one last time. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you whispered.

His fangs grew in his mouth and, as he squeezed his eyes shut, bit down on the space where your neck and shoulder met. The feeling of his teeth sinking into your flesh and tearing it apart was a pain you’d never experienced before. You let out a scream, the only outlet you could think of to ease the pain.

“No!” Eun Na screamed.

As Jongdae pulled away, he watched you as your eyelids flickered, struggling to stay open.

“(y/n)? (y/n)!”

You felt yourself weaken until finally, you went limp.


	15. Awaken

The only reason he wasn’t panicking or crumbling into a million pieces at the moment was because he could see your chest moving up and down just enough and he could feel your breath leaving your nose against his skin. He pulled you in close to his chest, listening to your heartbeat.

“That’s it, baby,” he sighed, “keep breathing.”

“NO!”

Eun Na managed to wiggle out from Sehun’s paws to the point of grabbing hold of the knife she’s dropped earlier. Before anyone could react, she plunged the knife into Sehun’s shoulder. The wolf howled in pain, allowing Eun Na to break free. She ran towards the mates, fire and rage in her eyes, knife still in her hand and pointed straight at Jongdae, her new prey.

Quick to action, Jongdae laid you back down on the slab and pounced. He pinned Eun Na to the ground once again, but not before her knife found its way to his side, tearing at the skin and muscle, but thankfully only gliding by creating a surface wound. A groan escaped from Jongdae thanks to the piercing pain, but he held on.

“Get off me!” Eun Na hissed as she kicked and fought against Jongdae’s grip. He put pressure on her wrist, making her let go of the knife so he could kick it away.

Junmyeon phased back into a human, running up to them. “Are you alright?”

Jongdae nodded. “I’ll be fine. Nothing I can’t heal from.”

The alpha looked releived. “Okay.” His ears twitched and he looked out into the tree lines. “Soomi’s here.”

Sure enough, the fairy-like witch emerged from the forest followed by several older women with frighteningly stern looks. Eun Na began crying under Jongdae, seemingly recognizing who had come for her. The rest of the coven fell to their knees, heads hung in shame. The oldest woman with a face layered in wrinkles and wild gray hair that fell down to her hips stepped forward, an intricately carved cane helping her keep her balance.

“Where is Eun Na?” she called out in a remarkably clear voice.

Grabbing ahold of the witch with a firm grip, Junmyeon hulled her to her feet. “She’s right here.”

Jongdae scooted back until he was pressed up against the slab. Your arm was dangling off the side and he took your hand, kissing the palm before placing it against his cheek, feeling the blood still pump through the veins steadily.

The old lady nodded to two women behind her who then came up to Eun Na, zip tied her hands together, and dragged her back to the group. The rest of the new witches did the same to the remaining members of the coven. No one put up a fight. Soomi joined the wolves who were in human form, handing Junmyeon a pair of sweats.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, sliding them on to be decent in front of the other women.

Jongdae held onto his side. The wound was already healing, but it still hurt like hell.

The crone nodded to the wolves before ushering the witches out of the area.

“What are they going to do to them?” Jongdae asked.

“They’ll all stripped of their magic,”Soomi informed them.

Jongdae raised in an eyebrow. Why hadn’t they tired that before?

“Only witches that have broken the sacred covenant have their magic taken away,” Soomi explained, practically reading his thoughts. “Harming an innocent. Hundreds of years ago, witches promised to cause no harm to someone who had not first harmed them. Mostly to protect ourselves from repeating the witch trials. Every witch, male or female, takes the oath when they reach of age, swearing to never break the covenant. To do so is to take on the ultimate punishment. It takes a full circle of mothers and crones to take away a witch’s power. They’re going to have a long night ahead of them.” She turned to Jongdae, eyes drifting down to the blood dripping from his side. “We should take a look at that.”

“No,” Jongdae shook his head, scrambled up and lifted you into his arms. “We need to look after (y/n) first. I’ll be fine.” He had to hold back a groan. Lifting you was easy, but he could feel the blood leaving his body, weakening him.

Nodding, Soomi stepped up to him, placing her fingers gently on the side of your face. “The potion certainly worked. I think it’s mostly shock that caused her to black out. I doubt being bitten is a pleasurable experience.”

“It’s supposed to be,” Jongdae murmured, staring down at you. Everything about the two of you had been so messed up, so off course, and it was his fault.

“We should get her back to the house,” Juhnmyeon suggested. “Let her rest somewhere comfortable while you and I have talk.”

Jongdae winced, knowing he was in trouble. He never even told his alpha that he was taking (y/n) off the land and to the city. He’d heard his phone vibrating multiple times last night as well, but chose to ignore it, too lost in holding you to take the calls. Trouble didn’t even begin to describe what he was in.

**

You were shocked when you woke up. It wasn’t a peaceful eye-fluttering awakening either. You’d been dreaming; a nightmare. Eun Na had succeeded in killing you and your ghost was forced to watch her pick off the pack one by one, forbidden to help, useless, even as you watched the other mates die in an attempt to rescue the wolves. It was a miracle that you’d woken up at all, gasping for air and pushing yourself up off the bed you now found yourself in. A familiar bed with a distinct calming smell you’d grown so used to. However, the space beside you, usually occupied by a clingy, warm wolf, was now cold and untouched.

Twisting around and adjusting your sitting position, you glanced around the room. Everything seemed to be the same since you left it who knows how many days ago. Your purse was even still hanging from the closet doorknob where you’d left it. Your neck was sore and when you reached up to feel it, you found gauze had been taped over your mark. Your mark.

You laughed softly to yourself. You were alive. That potion actually worked and you were alive. But happened to the others? To Eun Na and her coven? Were any of the boys hurt?

Hurried footsteps alerted you to someone approaching the room from the hallway. The door swung open and Jongdae stood in the entrance, huffing from his run to get to you. You smiled at him and he slammed the door shut before shrinking the distant between the two of you in the blink of an eye, pouncing on you.

Every inch of you, clothed or not, was covered by Jongdae’s kisses as he smothered you in affection. You couldn’t help but giggle, his touches tickling you on accident. After Jongdae was satisfied that his mouth had touched nearly every part of you, he brought your face to his, stealing the very breath from your lungs with his lips against yours.

Pulling away, you smiled at him, saying the only thing you could think of.

“Hi.”

Laughing at you, Jongdae pulled you into lap, cradling you to his chest. Your index finger tapped against his collar bone absentmindedly while you sat there in silence.

“You scared me there for a bit,” he admitted in a hushed voice that you would have missed if he hadn’t been so close. You looked up at him, frowning. Kissing your nose, he explained, “You’ve been out for two days. Soomi thinks that she might have accidentally put too much of something in the potion and it kept you asleep until it could burn off.”

“Oh. And…,” you swallowed, a little fearful of the answer, “what happened to Eun Na?”

“Soomi brought the head crone of this region,” he answered steadily, “and the coven was put on trial. They had their magic taken away. Eun Na won’t be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again.”

You knew that wasn’t true. It didn’t take magic to hurt someone, but you stayed quiet, your mind drifting off to Eun Na’s motivation instead.

Jongdae tapped your forehead, concerned at your silence. “What are you thinking about so hard?”

“I…,” you sighed. “I’m just finding it hard to hate her.”

A growl rippled through his throat. “How–”

You put your hand over his mouth, stopping him. “She was heartbroken over her sister. A wolf had hurt her, emotionally and physically. Wouldn’t you want to go after someone who hurt one of your brothers?”

Jongdae removed your hand as he frowned at you. “I wouldn’t try to kill innocent people in the process.”

“I’m not condoning her methods,” you argued, “just that I can’t completely blame her for wanting revenge. She was simply blinded by her anger. Remember, I spent months with her as my best friend. I saw a side of her that you never did.”

Letting go of you, Jongdae leaned back, a guilty looking spreading across his face. “Not exactly.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

He scratched the back of his head, huffing. “You’ve been told that being away from your mate for long periods of time causes pain?” You nodded. “Well, after meeting you at the party, I tried to stay away. But it got to the point of being unbearable so during the summer… I kind of… followed you around, to ease the pain a bit. You were with Eun Na a lot and so that’s also what kind of made us hesitate on whether or not she was up to something. She seemed to genuinely be having fun with you. But I mean, we can’t really kn- ow!”

You’d punched his chest, irritated. Between each word, you continued to add in a punch with your fist. “You. Stupid. Jerk. You. Were. Stalking. Me!” A pout pushed up at your lips that you couldn’t stop. You were sure you looked ridiculous rather than the mad you were going for. “And you still were fighting it? God, you’re an idiot. You had it so bad but you had to be stubborn–”

Rolling his eyes, Jongdae lifted you and laid you out on your back so you were trapped between him hovering above you and the bed underneath you. He kissed your cheek before planting one on your lips.

“I love you,” he smiled down at you.

“Oh, no,” you grumbled, trying to squirm your way out, but it was useless. “You really think you’re going to butter me up? I almost died for you, I deserve a lifetime of servitude from you.”

Like an actual puppy, Jongdae flopped down next you, cuddling up to your side. “I’m already your servant,” he mumbled into your shoulder, planting a few kisses on it as if you hadn’t received enough yet. “Whatever you say, goes. As long as it doesn’t put you in danger. Or get you killed. Or leave you alone with another man.”

You laughed and then flinched as Jongdae slowly removed the gauze from your neck. You couldn’t see the wound his teeth had left and you weren’t given the chance to as the second you tried to move, his hold on you tightened. With gentle lips, he kissed the newly forming scar. The pain wasn’t as intense as you’d prepared for, more like a slight irritation rather than a piercing sting.

“Does that really make you feel better?” you asked, running your fingers through his hair.

“You being alive makes me feel better,” he whispered, his own fingers roaming around the hem of your shirt before getting braver and slipping up to meet your cold skin.

You smirked, turning on your side and hooking a leg over his hip, erasing any space between the two of you. “Well, I guess that makes two of us.”

Rumbling with a low growl, Jongdae grabbed your thigh, pulling you even closer. “You’re playing a dangerous game, (y/n). Everyone will be able to hear.”

Sighing, you shrugged out of his tight hold, bringing your leg back on your side of the line. “You’re right. Let’s just lay here instead.”

Jongdae’s jaw dropped. “That… is just-”

You kissed him and you could feel him smiling against your lips. Right where you wanted him.


	16. The Letter

It was almost strange how calm your life had been since Eun Na and her coven were taken away by the crones. You were allowed to return to school in time for finals, barely passing some but still managing to do it. Jongdae was nearly always by your side in between classes, but the two of you had found that nice balance where you were still able to have your space and Jongdae still received the attention he craved.

Movie dates at the historic theatre became a weekly tradition for you two. It was your alone time, with the nights spent at your own apartment afterwards. Since winter break had commenced, the house was nearly always full of wolves and mates chatting, fighting, and playing. While you mostly broke the tradition and stayed at the house with Jongdae, your apartment came in handy when all the noise was too much.

You especially enjoyed the sleepy mornings just lying there in bed, staring at each other with heavy eyes that didn’t want to open all the way. There was no rush to make breakfast or worry that someone would come banging on the door for you to hurry up so they could eat. Coffee was sipped on the couch as you snuggled into Jongdae’s side, kept warm by his human space heater ways.

Yes, the world had become a nice balance of noisy, chaos filled days with the wolves and peaceful nights spent with your mate.

However, girls’ nights were some of your favorite moments as well. The five of you were always doing something different when you got together, whether it was movie nights at someone’s apartments, chilling on the patio of a bar (it took you a few times to get comfortable with that particular socializing event), or even the occasional shopping trip. You were rarely ever bought yourself anything, preferring to help the girls find a nice dress for date night or choose between two different (albeit very similar) pairs of jeans like at this very moment.

“So, how are you liking our cult?” Kimberly teased as she shifted through shirts hanging on the rack in front of her.

You rolled your eyes, pulling at the neck of your sweater. The mark had healed into a crescent moon scar like the others. It still itched sometimes, mostly when you wore wool or other scratchy-type clothing.

“I think the more important question,” Hae In chimed in, placing a pair of black jeans against her legs before deciding against them, “is why the heck she’s still practically living in that house?”

Ming frowned. “That’s true. I figured you would have wanted out of there considering your last breakdown over being stuck in the house. I mean, sure, you’re allowed to go shopping now, but that still gets overcrowded.”

You cringed. She was right. But… “There’s a difference between wanting out because you can’t and then choosing to stay in.” You shrugged, letting your attention drift to a plain white blouse. “Besides, we do go out, I just like the idea of living in the woods part of the time. It’s nice.”

In fact, it was beautiful. It snowed for the first time last week and you succeeded in dragging a whiny Jongdae out to play in it before wrapping up in his warmth with a fresh mug of hot chocolate. You could only imagine how Christmas would be.

“And she does still have her apartment,” Ji Yeon pointed out. “Which, according to Minseok, they use quite frequently.”

Your face heated up as the girls giggled. Though they were quite comfortable with… that – often talking about it during girl time - you still preferred your privacy. Plus, that was an absolute exaggeration. You were going to kill Jongdae when you got home.

The five of you finished up the shopping after another hour or so and decided to stop for hot chocolate before heading back. The stop at the café took a little longer than it should have as the five of you were trying to decide if it was worth it to take everyone back hot chocolate or not. Ming wanted to get some for the boys as a treat, but Kimberly insisted that it would get cold on the drive back and she didn’t want to have to carry any of it.

Finally, you spoke up and suggested buying some instant hot chocolate from the grocery store, saving the good kind for yourselves and not telling the boys. That ended the discussion and you all made one more trip to the store, Hae In swiping a bag of marshmallows as well.

Most of the boys were already hanging around the kitchen when you arrived back at the house, watching Kyungsoo cook with hungry eyes. Poor guy. He was always stuck cooking for everyone. Occasionally, Chanyeol or Yixing would help, but those two were easily distracted and would wonder off, one usually to find someone to play with and the other off to find his mate. You wanted to help Kyungsoo out, but you were banned from touching a pan after burning the fried rice one night.

Hae In looked around the room, frowning. “Where’s Baekhyun?”

“He and Sehun went to the post office about two hours ago,” Junmyeon answered from the table after sipping on his coffee. “Apparently they ordered some new ridiculous gadget they insist they need but will forget about in a week or so.”

“I heard that!”

Baekhyun stomped into the kitchen with a box almost as big as him. The much stronger and taller maknae strode in behind him, simply holding a stack of letters in his hand.

“Junmyeon hyung, when was the last time you went and got the mail?” Sehun complained, throwing the stack down on the table in front of the alpha.

Jongdae, apparently only now sensing your presence, came running down the stairs and nearly tackled you to the floor. A laugh escaped you when Jongdae peppered your cheek with kisses as if you’d been gone for a week rather than a few hours. The sound got caught in your throat, however, when your eyes met the sad, lonely look in Kyungsoo’s own gaze. He glanced away quickly, pretending your eyes hadn’t met.

You’d noticed that look before. It was always present in his eyes whenever he stared at any of the mates showing signs of affection. It must have been hard, to be an unmated wolf living in a house with other who had found the one. You hoped that maybe someday soon all the others could be complete as well.

Junmyeon was casually going through the pile of junk mail, tossing it carelessly to the side while Minseok, who sat next to him, carefully restacked and reorganized the envelopes. Near the end of the pile, Junmyeon frowned. Putting down the rest, he held up a small letter, barely the size of his palm. There was no return address in the corner and the paper was an odd, parchment-like brown.

Everyone in the room had stopped talking, eyes trained on whatever it was that had arrived for the alpha.

Slowly, Junmyeon ripped open the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper housed inside. As he took in the writing on the paper, his eyes grew and you could visible see his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.

“Junmyeon,” Chanyeol called out, his voice serious for once, “what is it?”

“It’s a letter from… them,” Junmyeon answered in a hushed tone.

Them? Who–

“It’s a warning,” he continued, his eyes never leaving the letter. “They’ve found them.”

Minseok shook his head, disbelieving whatever it was that you were missing. “You don’t mean that–”

“Yes,” Junmyeon laid down the letter, his eyes filled with worry. “The hybrids have found them.”

Turning your head, you looked to Jongdae, whose eyes were nearly popping out from his skull.

“What are the hybrids?”


End file.
